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Full text of "Proceedings of the reception & dinner under the title of the Spellbinders' dinner, Delmonico's, New York, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1888"

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Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  i 
By  C.  F.  JOHNSON, 
the  Office  of  tlie  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washiiigli 


BKNJAMIX  HARKISDX, 
LEVI   P.   MORTON, 
CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW, 
WARNER  MILLER, 


S.  V.  R.  CRUGER,  W.  D.  GUTHRIE.  J    s 

ELLIOTT  K.  SHEPARD,  GEORGE  A.  SHERIDAN  1    S 

JOHN  S.  WISE,  J.  A.  ADAMS,                       '  w    1 

ROBERT  P.  PORTER,  M.  S.  Q^A^■,  \Vm. 


CLARKSOI 
FASSETT, 
V.  DUDLEY 
CASSIUS  G 


Quotations  from  Address  of  Chaunx-ky  M.  Depkw, 

Invitation,  ... 

Announcement— (r,  2,  3,— our  Poet's  definition  of  •■Spellbinders, 

List  of  Guests,       .... 

List  of  Letters  of  Regret,  .  .  .  _ 

Menu, 

Proceedincs — 

Prayer,  .... 

Songs — Professor  Adams,  . 

Letters  of  Regret,     .... 
Addresses — 

Chaunce\-  M.  Depew, 

Warner  Miller,  . 

S.  V.  R.  Cruger,       .... 

Elliott  F.  Shepard,         .... 

John  S.  Wise,  .... 

Robert  P.  Porter,  .... 

George  A.  Sheridan, 

W.  D.  Guthrie, 
Closing— Chauncey  IVL   Depew 


15-16-17 
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23-25-26 
30-31-32 

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73 
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New  York,   November   12th,    iSSS. 
Dear  vSir  ; 

The  speakers  of  the  campaign  just  ended  will  meet  for  mutual  couKratulatioiis 
at  a  Dinner   to  be  given   at   Delmonico's,   on  Wednesday-,    November    14th,    at    S  P.  M. 

Chauncey  M.  Depew  will  preside,  and  toasts  will  be  responded  to  by  Col.  Robt. 
G.  Ingersoll,  Dr.  MacArthur,  General  George  A.  Sheridan,  Robt.  P.  Porter,  Whitelaw 
Reid,  Col.  Elliott  F.  Sliepard,  and  other  well-known  Repuljlican  speakers.  It  is 
probable  that  Vice- President-elect  Li-vi  P.  Morton  will  be  with  us,  and  also  Hon. 
Warner  Miller,   Col.  vS.   V.   R.   Cruger,   Col.  Joel  B.   p:rhardt,  and  others  of  our   leaders. 

If  you  wish  to  join  with  us,  you  will  forward  to  Delmore  Elwell,  ICsij.,  44 
Broadway,  N.  Y.,  the  sum  of  seven  dollars  ($7.00),  and  your  name  and  address, 
when  a  card  to  the    Dinner  will  be  innnediately  forwarded  to  you  by  messenger. 

Please  reply  AT  ONCP:  to  this,  so  that  we  may  know  exactly  how  many  guests 
to  provide  for. 


Very  respectfully  yours. 


liDWARD  F.   McCASKIF:, 
DELMORE  ELWELL, 

COL.  LOUIS  H.  aymf;, 

Committee  of  Arrangements. 


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U/eJmsJaj/JomnderJ^P-'  /88S, 


AT  8  F.  M. 


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A  NNO  UNCEMEN  T- 


CAPT.  JACK    CRAWFORD, 
HOW    THE    WORD    WAS     BORX.  „„,  sp,llh,„da  Poet. 

••  Such  Fellows  1  "  said  Colonel  Goodloe,  with  a  curious  smile  on  his  face, 
As  he  stood,  'mid  the  dire  confusion,  at  a  great  political  place 
Where  speakers  were  congregated  to  tell  of  the  battle  fought, 
And  how  they  could  hold  the  masses  deep-rooted  to  the  spot. 

"This  is  the  way  thev'  tell  it,"  the  great  Kentuckian  said; 
"They  come,  with  a  hand  extended,  and  a  proud  and  lofty  head. 

And  sav:   '  Last  night  at  the  meeting  there  were  .speakers  a  half  a  score  ; 

And,  as  each  one  'rose  on  the  platform,  the  people  filed  out  at  the  door; 

• '  '  But  though  to  the  last  they  held  me,  till  the  audience  was  worn  out, 
When  I  began  on  the  Tariff  and  other  issues  to  spout. 
The  people  leaned  toward  me,  and  sat  there  with  bated  breath, 
As,  with  my  great  oratory,  I  put  Free  Trade  to  death. 

"  '  The  people  paused  in  their  leaving,  and  halted  around  the  door: 

Then  turned,  as  my  accents  reached  them,  and  sank  in  their  seats  once  more; 

And  there,  for  an  hour,  I  held  them,  as  if  by  magnetic  spell, 

As,  with  my  great  thoughts  outspoken,  I  sounded  Democracy's  knell— 

"  '  Aye  !  Spellbound  I  held  the  masses,  as  they  never  were  held  before;  ^ 
And  applause  that  was  really  deafening  was  hurled  at  me  o'er  and  o'er.' 
"These  men,"  said  the  Colonel,  smiling,  "  I  meet  upon  every  hand— 
'  Spellbinders  '  I've  learned  to  call  them."      And  soon,  all  over  the  land. 
That  word  "Spellbinders  "  was  scattered;  and  now  so  great  is  its  fame 
That  clubs  of  eloquent  speakers  will  adopt  the  neat-fitting  name. 
To  the  Colonel  belongs  the  honor  of  coining  the  famous  word 
Which  now  flies  all  over  the  country  with  the  screams  of  our  Eagle  bird. 


^xD'avsti^^ 


'  The  Lfadino   Idea  of  (he  J/ewe;//,''  .  .  ChaunckY  M.   Depkw 

77/e  Siuress/ii/  S/.rndani  Hearer  oj  Ihe  /'ar/y^  .      Coi..    RobkkT  G.   Ingkksoi.I, 
T/ie  Iiijhteiue  of  the  Press  in  the   Campaign f  CoL.    Eli.iott  F.    Shkpard 

The  'Bowery  Parrot; ''  ......  ROBKRT  P.    PoRTER 

The  Soil  nnder  onr  Feetf        ....       General  Geo.   A.   Sheridan 

Tlie  Soil  nnder  onr  Hatsf 

Tin-  Politieal  Fntnref WhitELAW  Reid 

The    Yonng  Men  in  the  Campaign  o/   iSSS;'       .  .  W.    D.    Guthrie 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  OTHER  SPELLBINDERS  TO  "SPELLBIND." 


cPEILB)NPFRs. 


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WMITKL.WV  RI<:il),   t^; 


Gknkkai.  Joseph  C.  Jacksox,  A.   R.   \Vhitxi;v, 

Edward  F.   Bakti.ktt,  William  H.   Williams, 

William  H.   ISkllamv,  Eknkst  H.  Cr()si;v, 

(iKXKKAL    T.     X.     KXAI'P,  C.     C.    SlIAVNK, 

H.   K.   TnuKiiKR,  Col.   Frkd.  (^raxt, 

J  AS.   p.   Foster,  Iv  C.   Fo.ster, 

T.   P..  Willis,  Col.  W.  W.   Dldlkv, 

I).  Ci.    Harrimax,  Thomas  Sl<.)Axi-., 

O.   S.   Teai.l,  Johx  F.   Pll-m.mer, 

W.    I).   (h-THRiE,  James  W.   Pirkett. 


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O^^JWXTY.Y.  OT  W^^K^GY.^Y.W^S.\ 


Edward  F.   McC.askie,  Delmore  lii.wELL.  Col.   Louis  H.   Ayme. 


'-^m^^^' 


Adams,  J.  A., 
Ammidowii,  Edward  H. 
Atkins,  Addison, 
Ayme,  L,ouis  H., 
Angel,  James  R., 
Appleby,  Charles, 

Bellamy,  Albert, 
Bellamy,  \V.  H., 
Baclnis,  H.  C, 
Barnum,  H.  A., 
Bussey,  Cyrus, 
Bowden,  J,  B., 
Birkett,  Jas.  W., 
Burnett,  H.  S., 
Butterfield,  Daniel, 
Barton,  Geo.  D.  F., 
Baker,  John  F., 
Bigelow,  Chas.  C, 
Bogardus,  W.  H., 
Blau,  Bernard, 
Bridgman,  Herbert  L., 
Burton,  O.  F., 
Bigoney,  N., 
Breslin',  Jas.  G., 
Bamberger,  Peter  C, 
Bold,  Lewis  H., 
Boomer,  W.  B., 
Brock  way,  H.  H., 
Bartlett,  Ed.  F., 

Colcord,  Samuel, 
Chapman,  Wm.  H., 


Cruger,  S.  V.  R., 
Conkling,  George  E., 
Collis,  C.  H.  T., 
Cowles,  Walter  S., 
Crall,  M.  L.  H., 
Cravyford,  Jack, 
Cockerill,  John. 
Co.stello,  P.  C, 
Cronin,  Charles  G. , 
Curtis,  A.  vSidney, 
Case,  Jas.  ,S., 
Crosby.  Ernest  H., 

Depew,  Chauncey  M., 
Dickey,  J.  M., 
Donau,  S.  H., 
Dorcher,  Wm.  C, 
Dodge,  Miles  H..  D.D.S. 
Dunning,  William, 
Derrick,  W.  B., 
Dakin,  M.  F., 
Dre,s.ser,  Horace  E., 
DeGraw,  Geo.  P., 

I<;yans,  Thus.  H., 
lihvell,  Delniore, 
Eller}-,  Channing, 
Erskine,  Chas.  W., 
Evarts,  Maxwell, 
Earle,  D.  D., 
Edwards,  Guy  R., 
Ewing,  Thomas, 


Floyd,  John  G., 
Fowler,  C.  N., 
Fuller,  \V.  H., 
Foster,  Iv.  C, 
Fanning,  William,  Jr, 
F'oster,  Alon/.o, 


nev,  Frederick  (i., 
Ixs,  Fred'k  S., 
hardt,  lulward, 
lersleeve,  David  H. 


Grant,  F.  D., 
Guthrie,  \Vm.  D., 
Glea.sou,  Henry, 
Giffing,  John  C, 
Griggs,  Henry  T., 

Hume,  Jas.  H., 
Harper,  E.  B., 
Hayes,  W.  B., 
Hess,  Jacob, 
Hortoii,  Dudley  R., 
Hoyt,  Jesse, 
Haddock,  John  C, 
Hegemau,  John  R., 
Hawes,  Gilbert  R., 
Hazen,  Geo.  W., 
Henriques,  Svdendiani  P.  C. 
Hurlburt,   Henry  C, 
Hawkins,  l{ugene  1)., 
Hyatt,  vS,  Burdett, 
Harriman,  D.  i)., 

Jackson,  Josejjh  C, 
James,  \V.  I).. 
John.son,  C.  F., 
Jacobus,  John  W., 


Jackson,  R.  C., 
Jones,  A.  Delmont, 
Janes,  W.  D., 
Jenkins,  John  F., 
King,  Jewell, 
Knapp,  Joseph, 
Kimball,  William, 
Ketcham,  F.  S., 
Kimball,  Charles, 
Kelly,  Jas.  S., 

I<exow,  Chas.  K., 
Leaycraft,  J.  Edgar, 
Lane,  A.  T., 
Lock  wood,  J  a  red, 
Lems,  J.  N., 
Littlefield,  John  L., 
Lippincott,  Je.sse  H., 

McNamee,  D.  H., 
Mitchell,  David, 
Mitchell,  John  Murrav, 
Mitchell,  Edward, 
McCracken,  J.  H., 
Miller,  Gen.  F.  F., 
McCaskie,  F^dward  F., 
Man,  Edward  C, 
McLean,  Donald, 
Miller,  Warner, 
Morris,  Samuel, 
Murray,  Joseph, 
Merrit't,  Gen., 
Moore,  Chas.  A., 
McAlpin.  K.  A., 
Meade,  Clarence  W., 
Magie,  James  H., 

Nichols,  Geo.  L.,  Jr., 


Ochiltree,  Thos.  P., 

Peck,  Prof,  Wilfred  M., 
Porter,  Robert  P., 
Paulson,  Leonard,  Jr, , 
Pratt,  Gen.  h-  V., 
Pangborn,  Z.  K., 
Peixotto,  B.  F., 
Porter,  David  F., 
Parkinson,  W.  J., 
Parke,  H.  G., 
Parker,  Geo.  W., 

Reddy,  William, 
Rosenthal,  Alexander  ,S. 
Reed,  T.  T.  B., 
Roberts,  T.  H., 
Rutter,  Robert, 
Roach,  Stephen, 
Roper,  T., 

Randall,  vSamuel  H., 
Rowell,  Chas., 
Roberts,  Timothy  H., 
Robinson,  Frank, 

Shepard,  Elliott  F. , 
Stevens,  Henry  I{., 
Small,  J.  Henrv, 
Smith,  Chas.  W., 
Shayne,  C.  C, 
vSloane,  Thos., 
Shaffer,  O.  P., 
Smith,  John  S., 
Smith,  Clarence  M., 
Sabin,  C,  D., 
Simms,  Jacob  H., 
Scherck,  N.  L., 


Streeter,  S.  T., 
Sperry,  Frank, 
Sheridan,  Geo.  A., 
Stone,  A.  R., 
Schwartz,  Julius, 

Teall,  Oliver  Sumner, 
Taintor,  Chas.  N., 
Towiisend,  Jas.  B., 
Tomlison,  Harvev, 
TuthiU,  Theo.  K., 
Tavlor,  Alfred, 
Thurber,  H.  K., 
Teed,  Rev., 

Van  Meder,  W.  K., 

Van  Gelder,  J . , 

Van  Wormer,  Jnhn  R., 

Wi.se,  John  S., 
Whitney,  A.  R., 
Wilson,  Jas.  H., 
Walters,  Henry, 
Willis,  T.  B., 
White,  S.  v., 
Waring,  Wm.  H., 
Wilhams,  William  H., 
Whittemore,  William  L. 
Whittemore,  H., 
Waterman,  S., 
Worthington,  Ralph, 
Worthington,  Geo., 
Wandling,  J.  L., 
Wormer,  T.  P., 

Young,  S.  Edward, 
Young,  Thos.  H. 


THK  FoLLoWIXCr  LKTTKRS  oK  RE(;RKT  WERE  RECEIVED 


Atkins,  Addison. 
Armstrong,  William, 

Baker,  Charles  D., 
Bliss,  Cornelius  N., 
Barnum,  H.  A., 
Bishop,  C.  F., 
Backus,  Henry  Clint( 

Cromwell,  GeorgL-, 
Conkling,  Alfred  R., 
Clarkson,  J.  S., 
Claflin,  John, 
Carroll,  H.  K., 

Dudley,  W.  W., 
Davis,  A.  M., 
Dodge,  Miles  H., 

Erhardt,  John  H., 
Eckert,  W.  H., 

Foster,  Mrs.  J.  ICllen. 

Griffin,  Albert, 
Grow,  John  A., 
Gallagher,  H.  D., 

Harrison.  Benjamin, 
Htibbell.  Charles  L.. 

Ingersoll,  R.  G.. 
Ingersoll,  Edward  P. 
Ives,  W.  L.. 


Landon,  Henry  L., 

Morton,  Levi  P., 
MacArthnr.  R.  S., 
McCarthy,  Rev.  Chas.  P., 
Mnrrell,  William,- 
Matthews,  H.  A., 
Moss,  Frank, 

O'Farrell,  Patrick, 

Parsons,  Heiu-y. 
Phnnmer.  John  F., 
Pierce,  John  H.. 
Parkinson,  Jas., 

Reid,  Whitelaw, 
Root,  lUihu, 

Shannon,  R..hcrt  H., 

Thoms..n.  1-.  A.. 

riman,  H.  Charles, 

\'an  Renssalaer,  James  T. 
\'an  Vorst,  Hooper  C, 
\'alentine,  Fred.  C, 
\'ernon,  Harold, 

Windnm,  William, 
Warwick,  J.  II. 


pfLLBINPfRs 


^'^^^^^^^3IP 


S^:>^^^^'^''*. 


^^^ 


(inimc  Coluinl 


Petits  pois  au  Ijeurrt- 


MORS    D'OEUVRE 
Tinihak-s  a  la  reine 
POISSON 
Bass  rayee.   hi)llaiidaise  vtrt-pre 

I'liinnics  de  terre  a  la  viennaise 


RELEVE 

Filets  dt  houef  a  la  jMC-nioiitaist 

ToinatL-s  au  gratin 

ENTREES 

Pouk'ts  sautes  a  la   Dumas 

Ris  de  veau  a  la  puree  de  niarrons 

Scirliet  :    Delice 


Choux  de  Hruxelles 


ROTS 

Cauanls  a   tete   rouge 

FROID 

Tcrrine  de  foies-gras  a  la   gelee  Salade  de  laitue 

ENTREMETS    DE    DOUCEUR 

Poudiug   atix   lianaues 

Gelee  ceuterba  '  Charlotte 

Pieces  montees  Glace  :   Fautaisies 

Fruits  Petits  fours  Cafe 

21 


Chauxckv  M.  Dkpkw  presided. 

Tlie  proceedings  were  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Teall. 
After    a    portion    of    the   dinner  liad    been    dispo.sed   of    Mr.    Dkpew   said: 
Professor  Adams  will  begin  the  intellectual  entertainment  with  a  song." 

Song  by  Professor  Adams: — 

(;OOD-BY,  OLD   (TROVER,  GOOD-PA'  ! 


The  train  is  coining  around  the  bend, 
Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! 

It's  loaded  down  with  Harrison  men, 
Good-l)y,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! 

Chorus — Bye,  free  trade  ljab\-  ! 

Rock  it,  Grover,  tenderly 
Bye,  free  trade  bab>'  ! 
We'll  smash  the  cradle  ! 
Good-by  ! 

23 


Free  trade  is  busted,  protection,  we  saj-  ! 

Good-by,  old  Orover,  good-by  ! 
Roast  beef  to  eat,  two  dollars  a  day'! 

(ioocMiy,  old  (',ni\-er,  good-by  I — Clio. 

The  time  has  come  In'  loyal  men — 

Good-l)y,  old  Gro\-er,  good-by  1 

To  shoot  the  bandanna  and  vote  for  Ben  I 

Good-bye,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! — Quo. 

No  rebel  flags  will  be  returned  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  I 
Those  veto  cranks  true  soldiers  spuin  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! — Cho. 

Vour  colors  are  out,  the  English  rag  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! 
We  still  unfurl  the  American  flag  !  ' 

tiood-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! — Ciio. 

Tippecanoe,  and  Morton,  too  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-I)^-  ! 
If  you  can't  remember,  you  will  in  November  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  !— Cho. 

Vou  are  going  away  for  the  countrv's  good  ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-ln-  !  ' 
A  case  of  iiuiocuous  desuetude  I 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! — Ciio. 

Vou  are  going  home  to  take  a  rest ! 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-bv  ! 
We'll  SL-iid  \ou  to  England  with  vSackville  Wesi 

Gnod-by,  old  Grover,  good-by  ! — Ciui. 

When  the  March  winds  blow  the  cradle  will  fal 
Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-b\-  1 

Down  come  Grover,  baby,  and  all  I  ' 

Good-by,  old  Grover,  good-l)\-  ! — Ciio. 


Mr.  Dkpf.w: — Professor  Adams  said  he  never  sany  a  second  time  until  the 
intellectual  repast  was  finished.  In  all  American  assemblies,  canvas-back  duck  is 
reco<,niized  as  an  intellectual  repast:  therefore,  I  call  on  Profes.sor  Adams  for 
Numl)er   vSix. 

Son":  by  Professor  Adams: — 


CLEVIvLAND'S    LAMENT. 

liV  PROl'.  J.   A.    ADAMS. 

I  am  •j:>mtff  far  away,  far  away  to  leave  you  now, 

.\iiil  up  Salt  River  I  am  quickly  .sailing, 
And  I'll  take  my  tribe  along,  and  we'll  sing  our  ]iarting  .song 

As  we  sail  back  to  Buffalo,  my  home. 
Chorus — Down  in  the  corn-fields. 

Hear  that  mournful  sound, 
All  the  Democrats  are  weeping, 
Grover's  in  the  cold,  cold  ground. 
I  am  going  far  away,  for  I  know  I  cannot  stay, 

And  I'll  use  that  old  bandann-a  while  I'm  crying, 
And  to  wipe  away  those  tears  for  the  sins  of  many  years, 

As  I  stay  there  in  Buffalo,  my  home. — Cho. 
I  am  going  far  away,  far  away  from  Washington, 

For  I've  heard  some  dreadful  tidings  from  Chicago, 
That  the  G.  O.  P.'s  alive,  and  with  Harrison  will  drive 

Us  away  back  to  Buffalo,  my  home. — Cho. 
I  am  going  far  away,  for  I've  stayed  four  years  too  long, 

Ancl  the  people  all  insist  ujion  my  going  ; 
For  Protection  is  their  wish,  and  they'll  .send  me  home  to  fish 

In  the  ponds  around  Buffalo,  my  home. — Cuu. 


I  am  going  far  away,  from  November  sixth  to  stay. 
And  by  that  time  I'll  have  written  my  last  veto  : 

For  as  Roger  Mills  has  said,  "  You  go  home  and  soak  your  head;' 
I'll  attend  to  that  at  Buifalo,  my  home.— Cho. 

I  am  going  far  away,  and  I  know  not  where  to  go. 
Where  myself  and  free  trade  can  give  satisfaction  ; 

To  the  cold  Siberian  hills  I'll  take  Roger  Qurius  Mills, 
For  no  friends  have  we  at  Buffalo,  my  home. — Cho. 

I  am  going  far  away,  for  you  know  the  reason  wh3% 
For  the  people  of  New  York  are  daily  singing, — 

Poor  old  Grover's  in  the  cold,  and  that  when  the  votes  are  polled, 
I'll  be  buried  up  in  Buffalo,  my  home.— Cho. 


Mr.    Dkpkw: — Professor    Adams   will    continue    the    intellectual    repast    by 
singing  X umber  h'\\e. 

Song  In-    Professor  .\dams: — 

AND  WE'LL  ALL  FEEL  GAY. 

(TuTie—-' When  Jclmny  Conies  M.irrliiiis;  Home."     Key— B  11.11.) 

When  "  Johiuiy"  comes  marching  home  again. 

Hurrah  I  Hurrah  ! 
The  "  Union  "  men  will  Hip  !  Hip  !  Hip  ! 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
Free  trade  will  fly  and  freedom  come, 
Olad  shouts  ring  out  from  every  home, 
.\nd  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  goes  in. 


Old  Grover  he  will  have  to  get, 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
For  he  can't  stand  the  bayonet, 

Boo-hoo !  Boo-hoo ! 
The  "Johnnies"  they  have  got  the  gout 
We'll  have  to  turn  the  rascals  out  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  go 

The  lion  will  growl  across  the  main, 

Hurrali  !  Hurrah  ! 
While  Grover  echoes  back  the  strain, 

Voo-hoo  !  YoG-hoo  ! 
And  over  to  England,  in  a  pet. 
Our  Lion-clad  President  will  get  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  gc: 

The  Grand  Old  Party  will  not  dcnvn. 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
Protection  is  its  jeweled  crown. 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  1 
The  eagle  perches  on  its  crest  ; 
The  Lion  cannot  rob  the  nest  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tipjiecanoe  g( 

The  Stars  and  vStripes  shall  he  (lur  flag. 

Hurrah  I  Hurrah  ! 
We'll  have  no  red  bandanna  rag  ! 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
No  Turkey  red  nor  Rebel  gray 
Can  steal  our  loyal  hearts  away  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  gi 

Get  ready  for  the    'jubilee," 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
For  Home  and  Rights,  and  Liberty, 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
No  "substitute"  can  win  the  day  ! 
A  Harrison  now  leads  the  way  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  gc 
27 


Three  clieers  from  Oregon  to  Maine, 

Hurrah  !  Hurrali  ! 
For  Morton,  Harrison  and  Blaine  1 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
Three  rousing  cheers  for  victory  I 
For  FVeenien's  rights  give  three  times  three  !  ! 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay  when  Tippecanoe  goes  in. 


Mk.  Dkpew: — We  will  now  have  a  telegram  from  the  President-elect  of  the 
United  States. 

Col.  Louis  H.  Ayme  read  the  following-  telegram  from  President  HarrLson: — 

Edv.  F.  McCaskic,  Pclmoyc  Eliccll,  Louis  //.  Avmc, 

44  Broadway,  New  York. 

GenTLEMKX: — I  am  compelled  to  decline  your  invitation  to  attend  the  diinier  at 
Delmonico's,  this  evening,  given  to  the  Republican  Campaign  Speakers.  I  camiot  claim 
a  place  in  this  honoraVjIe  oimpan\-  of  great  campaign  orators.  The  principles  they  advo- 
cated were  worthy  of  them,  and  tlie  advocates  were  worthy  of  the  cause. 

(Signed)  BENJAAHN  HARRISON. 

[Three  cheers  were  given  for  Harrison.  Crie.s  of,  "What's  tlie  matter  with 
Harri.son  ?  "      "  He's  all  right  !  "J 


Col.  Av.mk:— I  have  a  letter  in  my  hand  from  tlie  Vice-President-elect  of  the 
United  States,  dated  November  13th,  1888. 

New  York,  Novemlier  13th,  1888. 
Mr.  Dr/„w,r  F.hccll : 

Dkak  Sir:— It  is  with  extreme  regret  that  I  have  to  inform  you  of  my  inability  to 
be  present  at  the  banquet  at  Delmonico's,  on  Wednesday  evening,  in  honor  of  the  speak- 
ers of  the  campaign  just  ended.  The  honor  it  is  your  purpose  to  show  td  thcin  is 
thoroughly  well  earned.  To  the  able  manner  in  which  they  set  before  the  people  the  ])rin- 
ciples  advocated  by  our  party  at  Chicago,  and  the  policy  of  the  Republican  Party,  is  due 
the  large  measure  of  success,  especially  in  New  York  vState,  for  which  we  are  now  all 
rejoicing  together.  It  would  have  given  ine  great  pleasure  to  express  to  them,  in  person, 
my  warmest  thanks,  but,  as  I  cann(jt  ilo  this,  I  beg  that  you  will  convey  to  these  battle- 
weary  warriors  my  high  appreciation  of  their  successful  efforts,  and  believe  me, 
Very  faithfully  yours, 

(Signed)  LEVI  P.   MORTON. 

[Cries  of,  "What's  the  matter  with  Morton  ?  "      "  He's  all  right  !  "] 

Col.    AvmE:— Mr.    President,    1    have    another   letter   in   my   hand  which,   I 
think,  sir,  deserves  the  closest  attention  of  every  one  of  us  present. 

Mr.   Dclmorc  FJurll : 

Dkar   Sir  :— Social  conventionalities    forbid   my  personal   presence   at   y<nir  great 
gathering.     From  a  heart  deeply  moved  with  the  contest,  and  with  the  victory,  permit  a 

29 


written  salutation.  The  cani]xiii;n  was  di,>;nififd  in  inethotl,  elevattd  in  tone,  vii^orous  in 
action  ;  the  issues  upon  which  it  was  fouj^ht  were  vital  to  the  Nation's  lite.  The  victory- 
was  glorious,  but  cha.stened  with  the  .sense  of  responsihilitx'  whicli  moral  warfare  alwaj'S 
bring.s. 

The  full  diapason  of  our  Hallelujah  chorus  is  even  richer  for  the  minor  strain — the 
vox  humana — from  this  Empire  State,  which  failed  to  crown  its  lieroic  son, — Warner 
Miller.  But  the  eternal  years  of  God  are  Truth's,  and  Time's  tribunal  .shall  show  him  to 
have  been  as  true  a  victor  as  is  the  Nation's  cho.sen  chief, — Benjamin  Harrison. 

Among  the  hundreds  who  will  rejoice  around  yoin  festive  board  (over  the  victory 
the\  helped  to  win),  no  woman's  voice  will  be  heard.  God  knows  (and  many  women 
know)  that  they  toiled  up  to  the  full  measure  of  their  ability  and  opportunity.  He  only 
knows  how  much  their  prayers  weighed  on  the  side  of  that  Christian  ci\-ilization  of  which 
the  Republican  Party  is  the  political  exponent. 

The  active  su]iport  of  Republican  women  was  assured  when  the  Chicago  Conven- 
tion adopted  the  resolution  introduced  by  Congressman  Charles  A.  Boutelle,  of  Maine  : 
"The  first  concern  of  all  good  government  is  the  virtue  and  sobriety-  of  the  people,  and 
the  purity  of  the  home.  The  Republican  Party-  cordially  sympathizes  with  all  wise  and 
well-directed  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  temperance  and  morality."  Upon  that  platform, 
and  with  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Levi  P.  Morton,  the  party  went  to  victory  ;  and  the 
Nation  rejoices. 

Gentlemen,  we  are  with  you  still.  Organizations  of  Republican  w(T4iien  will  be 
maintained,  increased,  and  strengthened  ;  We  shall  abide  with  you,  not  as  dictators,  but  as 
helpmeets.  With  you  we  will  labor  to  conser\-e  the  fruits  of  victory  ;  and  may  the  God 
of  Nations — the  God  of  our  fathers — enlighten  and  guide. 

\"ery  truly  yours, 

MRS.  J.  ELLEN  FOSTER. 


Col..  .\vmk: — Mr.  President,  here  is  another  letter  in  which  we  are  all  inter- 
ested—from Col.  Ingersoll. 

400  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Dclmorc  FJurll ,  ii  /hvad'd'ay,  City: 

I)E.\R  Sir  :— I  regret  to  say  it  is  impossible  for  ine  to  be  present  with  you  this 
evening  to  celebrate  the  great  victory.  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Levi  P.  Morton  were 
nominated  because  the  Republican  Party  had  coniidence  in  their  ability  and  integrity. 
Benjamin  Harrison  has  lived  a  useful  life.  He  has  discharged  his  obligations,  .stood  by 
his  convictions,  and  kept  his  word.  He  has  hoed  his  own  row,  and  made  his  own  way  as 
a  soldier  of  the  Republic  and  an  x\merican.  For  many  months  a  nuiltitude  of  men  sought 
to  find,  out  of  the  record  of  his  life,  some  fault  or  flaw,  some  blot  or  stain  ;  and  I  con- 
gratulate, not  only  the  President-elect,  not  only  the  Republican  Party,  but  the  American 
people,   becau.se  no  fault  or  flaw,   no  blot  or  stain  was  found. 

The  life  of  Morton  is  that  of  an  honorable,  honest  man.  He  has  traveled  from 
poverty  to  wealth,  from  obscurity  t(.i  fame,  not  by  the  winding  paths  of  trickery  and  fraud, 
but  by  the  highways  of  honor ;  and  has  fairly  won  the  place  he  holds.  A  great  victory 
has  been  grandly  won. 

Thanking  you  for  the  invitation,  and  again  regretting  my  inaliility  to  be  present. 

Faithfully  yours, 

R.  G.  INGKRSOLL. 

p_  s.— I  delayed  writing  as  long  as  I  could  h(.]nng  that  I  might  feel  well  enough 
to  come. 

[Three  cheers  were  given  for  Col.    IngersoU.] 
31 


Col.  AvmK: — I  will  also  read  a  letter  from  Rev.  R.  vS.  MacArthiir. 


Nkw  York,   November  12th,   18SS. 

De.vr  Mr.  Ei.wki.i.  :— Your  courteous  invitation  is  this  nionient  received.  I 
much  regret  that  I  cannot  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  being  with  >ou  at  Delmonico's,  on 
Wednesday-  evening,  the  14th  inst.  You  will  have  a  joyous  time.  It  is  in  every  way 
fitting  that  such  an  opportunity  to  express  our  joy  for  the  past  and  our  hopes  for  the  future 
should  be  afforded.     I  have  an  imjiortant  church  engagement  for  that  evening. 

I  am  full  of  gratitude  and  jow  It  was  a  brave  fight  :  it  is  a  grand  victor\-.  Hut, 
now,  the  victors  and  the  vanquished  will  rejoice  together  in  the  great  blessings  which  will 
surely  come  to  our  common  country.  We  are  patriots  now  ;  the  Eastern  sky  is  colored 
with  the  crimson  and  gold  of  a  brighter  da\-  in  our  political  sky  than  we  have  seen  for 
some  years  at  least. 

Kindly  express  my  regrets  to  the  company-  ;  but  neither  you  nor  I  can  express  my 
joy,  hope,   and  enthusiasm. 

Yours  tndy, 

R.  S.   MacARTHUR. 


MR.   DKPKW. 

Tliere  liave  been  many  ,L;atlK-rinys  in  tlie  Ihiited  States,  but,  durin.i^'-  the 
century  of  its  existence,  none  like  this;  an<l  for  the  coming-  century  it  may  be  a 
cause  of  tliankfulness  that  this  is  the  only  one  ever  held. 

To  Leather  two  hundred  campaign  .speakers  within  one  hall  is  an  appalling- 
thing  to  contemplate;  [laughter]  every  one  of  them  loaded  to  the  muzzle  with 
oratorv,  and  onlv  the  restraining  gavel  of  their  chairman  to  prevent  their  firing  it 
off.      [Loud  laughter  and  noise.      Cries  of,  '' (iive  him  a  chance!  "] 

When  I  arrived  here  to-night  I  received  note  after  note  saying,  in  almost  the 
same  form,  "After  the  regular  sentiments,  give  me  a  chance."  When  I  came  to 
count  up  the  number  of  these  appeals  I  found  there  were  one  hundred  and  eleven. 
The  chairman  is  tender-hearted,  and  loves  to  oblige  his  friends— the  janitor  will 
please  lock  the  d(jors.      [Laughter  and  applause.] 

So  long  as  all  conditions  of  humanity,  of  age,  of  race,  of  color,  ot  nation- 
alitv,  and  of  .se.x  can  unite  for  such  pnrpo.ses  as  they  wish  to  accomplish,  or  such 
principles  as  they  believe  in  common;  and  so  long  as  any  human  being  who  can  get 
nobody  to  agree  with  him  can  flock  by  himself,  there  is  no  reason  wh>-  the  campaign 
speakers  of  this  Republic  should  not  have  a  society.  The\-  are  a  much-suffering, 
patient,  and  hardworking  part  of  this  industrial  Nation.  They  believe  in  Pro- 
tection, and  wish  whenever  the\-  speak  they  may  be  protected  from  an\-  other 
speaker  the  same  evening.  The  ])eculiar  qualifications  that  go  to  make  up  the 
campaign  orator  are  possessed  b\-  onh-  a  very  small  portion  of  the  si.xty  millions  ot 


Americans.  He  must  lia\e  a  constiliUit>n  whicli  can  i^o  without  sleep,  and  a 
digestion  that  can  stand  any  meal.  [Laughter.]  The  railroad  car  must  be  tor 
him  a  couch  of  ease,  and  the  marvelous  concoctions  he  must  eat  at  private  and 
public  boards  will  threaten  his  internal  peace  for  the  rest  of  his  days.  He  must  be 
of  the  qualit\-,  plnsically,  which  deiies  everything  that  kills  off  the  rest  of  mankind; 
and  mentalh',  that  can  stand  hostile  criticism,  the  storm  of  ad\-erse  audiences,  and 
the  failure  of  the  applau.se  he  most  covets.  (Tiven  the.se  qualifications,  and  the 
campaign  orator  starts  out  to  enter  ujion  labors,  the  terrors  of  which  are  known  to 
no  others  of  the  professional  or  working  classes.  The  committee  recei\es  him  at 
the  depot  with  rcsettes  in  the  lapels  of  their  coats,  or,  if  he  has  come  to  fill  the 
ajipointment  of  the  favorite  orator  who  was  e.x]iected, — with  ctirses  and  shot  guns. 
If  he  is  a  distinguished  man,  there  is  an  open  barouche  and  horses  witli  plumes 
iqion  their  heads.  There  is  a  inx)cessiou  with  a  brass  band  in  front  and  cannon 
behind,  and  a  uniformed  comixmy.  He  is  unfit  for  his  place  if  he  cannot  follow 
that  procession  and  breathe  gallons  of  coal-oil  smoke  from  the  torches,  and  then  talk 
in  a  clear  tenor  voice  for  two  hours.  He  must  never  lo.se  faith  in  his  own  ehxiuence, 
uo  matter  what  becomes  of   his  audience. 

I  was  once  invited  b\'  a  county  committee  to  address  a  meeting  at  the  capitol 
of  the  State,  and  through  that  meeting,  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth;  and 
they  .selected  the  most  distinguished  of  their  local  statesmen  to  preside  and  make 
the  introductory  s])eech.  The  result  was  that,  at  the  end  of  three  hours  and  a  half 
of  this  chairman's  orator}',  the  only  ]ieople  left  in  the  hall  were  the  reporters,  the 
band,  the  count\'  committee,  and  myself      [Laughter.] 

This  organization  receives  its  name  iVom  the  fict  that  the  canqmign  supplied 
speakers   ol    high    and    low  degree,    whose   common    habit  it  was,    in   their  modest 

34 


references  to  their  efTorts,  to  state  tliat  on  every  occasion  they  hehl  "acres  of 
auditors  spell-bonnd."  It  has  been  a  trite  remark,  for  years  past,  that  the  orator 
has  lost  his  phice,  and  llie  speaker  has  no  mission  in  life.  It  is  true  tliat  the  news- 
paper educates,  and  that  the  editor  writes  with  a  i'ullness  of  information  and  intel- 
ligence of  opinion  wliicli  prepares  an  audience,  so  tliat  it  knows  quite  as  much  as 
the  speaker;  but,  if  tlie  speaker  is  gifted  with  tlie  elements  uf  the  orator — the  mag- 
netic voice;  the  wi_)rd  painting  of  fict  and  illustration;  the  ]:)ower  of  so  stating  what 
he  believes  that  his  hearers  of  the  same  party,  from  passive  members  become  active 
entliusiasts;  the  tact  to  su  impress  and  yet  not  offend  the  doulitful  that  they  are 
thenceforth  converts  to  his  taith;  and  the  talent  to  bulli  irritate  and  dishearten  the 
enenn- — he  demonstrates  the  perennial  power  of  siieech,  and  that  there  never  can 
be  any  sid)stitute  for  genuine  oratory. 

There  is  a  belief  that  the  great  orators  are  dead  and  that  they  have  left  no 
successors.  In  the  more  jirimitive  periods,  when  the  people  were  not  educated  by 
the  universal  distribution  of  new.spapers,  magazines,  and  tracts,  the  orator's  voice 
was  the  only  way  of  impressing  political  principle.  lint  the  speecli  which,  in 
earlier  times,  reached  the  mulitude  and  roused  enthusiasm  could  not  be  delivered 
to-day  to  any  audience  on  the  American  continent.  You  read  them  now,  with  their 
wastes  of  words  upon  the  primer  of  politics  and  history,  and  their  stilted  platitudes, 
with  weariness  and  wonder.  I  have  heard  most  of  the  famous  men,  tlie  traditions 
of  whose  elocpience  are  the  despair  of  the  orator  who  uexer  heard  them.  I  have 
listened  to  vStephen  A.  Douglas,  with  his  vigorous  argument,  slow  eniuiciation,  and 
lack  of  magnetism;  to  Abraham  Lincoln,  with  his  resistless  logic  [applause]  and 
quaint  humor;  to  Tom  Corwin,  with  his  rollicking  fun  and  bursts  of  fiery  elociuence; 
to  Salmon  P.  Chase,  William  H.  Seward,  Charles  Sumner,  Wendell  Phillips.     As 

35 


I  look  liack  and  recall  what  tht.-\'  said,  and  the  effects  wliicli  they  produced,  and 
calmly  cstiiii.ite  what  the\-  ini.i;ht  1)e  alile  to  do  with  the  highly  cultivated  and 
thoroughly  informed  audiences  of  to-da\-,  there  is  onl\-  one  of  them  who  strikes  me 
as  possessing  qualifications  which  are  not  duplicated  by  orators  who  could  be  uamed 
among  our  contemporaries.  That  one  is  Wendell  Phillii)s.  [Applause.]  In  the 
\-igor  of  his  pure  vSaxon;  in  the  marvelous  lucidity  with  which  he  stated  liis  facts; 
in  his  own  volcanic,  yet  sup])ressed  passion  which  aroused  the  wildest  enthusiasm 
in  his  audience;  in  the  way  in  which  he  met  and  conquered  the  most  dangerous  and 
venomous  audiences,  he  lias  left  no  equal  or  survixor. 

The  cain]iaign  speaker  is,  of  all  jjeople,  the  worst  ])lagiarist.  He  does  not 
hesitate  to  steal  anything  he  sees  or  reads.  ,Some  ten  years  ago,  I  prepared  with 
great  care,  a  speech  that  1  pro])osed  to  delixer  every  da>-  in  a  campaign  of  three 
weeks.  After  the  third  deli\'ery  I  found  that  an  orator  from  another  State,  with 
great  reputation,  who  ])receded  me  b>"  two  nights  at  my  apijointments,  deli\-ered  my 
speech  word  for  word.  .\n(l  to  cold  audiences,  who  looked  and  listened  as  though 
I  was  the  cliami)ion  fraud  of  the  century,  I  repeated  that  sj^eech  twice  before  I 
found  it  out. 

K\-('TO\'ernt)r  Tom  Ford,  of  Ohio,  told  me  that  he  once  went  on  a  caiuass 
with  Salmon  1*.  Chase,  go\ernor,  senator,  and  chief  justice.  ^Ir.  Cha.se  had  an 
argument  jnepared  and  committed  to  memory  which  he  repeated  every  night. 
Governor  h'ord,  a  practical  joker,  with  a  marvelous  meuuiry,  asked  the  privilege  of 
speaking  first,  and  he  delivered  Chase's  speech.  Chase  came  forward  and,  with 
great  dignit\-,  said,  That  he  liad  listened  to  Mr.  Ford  on  manv  occasions,  but  never 
before  had  he  known  him  to  seize  the  subject  witli  a  giant's  grasp — that  he  had  so 
completely   covered   and   exhausted   the   ca.se    that   there   was  nothing  left   for  any 

36 


luiinan  being  to  sav.  But  Ford  said  he  never  was  able  to  resume  his  relations  with 
Mr.   Chase. 

A  distinguished  English  statesman  told  me  last  summer,  that  two  politicians 
on  that  side  went  out  campaigning  together,  and  each  delivered,  on  every  occasion, 
substantially  the  speech  with  which  he  began.  The  Chase-Ford  trick  was  played 
bv  the  les.ser  upon  the  greater  light.  When  they  got  back  to  their  hotel,  the  man 
who  had  repeated  the  other's  speech  .said  to  him,  "  It  is  singular  that  that  speech  of 
yours,  which  has  been  received  e\-ery where  else  with  such  immense  applause,  caused 
none  here;  and  those  jokes  of  yours,  which  seemed  so  good,  fell  dead  here."  And 
the  great  .statesman  looked  at  him  sympathizingly,  and  said,  "I  spoke  here  two 
weeks  ago." 

Now,  the  campaign  speaker  retires  from  the  canvass  into  his  business  and 
disappears  from  the  public  eye.  But  there  is  something  of  the  dramatic  spirit 
aroused  in  him.  He  loves  the  platform,  the  cheering  audiences,  the  wild  acclaim; 
and  it  is  difficult  for  him,  if  he  has  been  a  long  time  out,  to  settle  back  again  into 
the  trend  and  current  of  life.  It  is  the  peculiarity  of  this  canvass  that  the  profes- 
sional speaker  had  little  part  in  it,  but  that  the  great  business  community  furnished 
the  orators.  From  everv  profession  and  a\-ocation  volunteered  men  who  felt  that 
their  highest  duty  to  their  country,  and  their  best  .service  to  their  business  was  to 
instruct  their  fellow-citi/.ens  in  those  principles  to  which  they  had  pinned  their  faith. 

That  feeling  of  interest  which  brings  together  men  of  kindred  views  and 
enthusiasm  will  make  this  as.sociation  memorable,  not  for  to-day,  but  for  all  time; 
and  adding  to  its  membership  those  who  hereafter  come  along  ami  are  worth>-  of 
the  guild.  We  are  not  here  to-night  to  explain  how  we  won  this  fight.  It  is  a 
peculiarity  of  politics,  fortunately,   that  those  who  are  victorious  have  no  time  to 


waste  in  accounting-  for  tlicir  victory,  but  leave  to  those  who  are  vanquished  the 
wearyino;  task  of  vexing-  tlie  ears  of  their  listeners  explaining  how  thev  got  left. 

\Vc  both,  the  campaign  speaker  and  the  listener,  on  an  occasion  like  this, 
which  is  sympathetic,  sentimental,  and  of  hilarious  character,  cannot  fail  to  note 
how  the  ordinary  man  describes  the  causes  of  his  defeat.  .\  statesman  of  the  (irand 
Central  Depot  yard,  leaning  against  a  switch  the  next  morning  after  election,  .said 
to  his  companion,  "  Moike,  what  do  you  think  did  it?"  "Well,"  said  he,  "Pat, 
it  strikes  me  that  it  was  Mills'  Bill."  "  ( )h,"  said  Pat,  "  yon  are  wrong;  it  was  the 
surplus."  "Well,"  said  Mike,  "if  it  was  the  surplus,  whv  the  divil  didn't  old 
Cleveland  take  the  surplus  and  pay  Mills'  Bill?"      [Shouts  of  laughter.] 

The  most  significant  of  inaugurations  is  that  of  the  coming  March.  With 
the  close  of  the  administration  of  ;\Ir.  Cleveland  ends  an  hundred  vears  of  American 
liberty;  with  tlie  inauguration  of  Benjamin  Harrison  begins  the  second  centurv.  It 
is  not  an  imaginary  line  of  time  which  .separates  these  cycles;  it  is,  and  will  remain, 
a  distinctively  dividing  line  of  national  history,  development,  and  jiolicy.  The 
century  which  clo.ses  with  Mr.  Cleveland  marks  the  death  of  the  things  we  have 
most  talked  about;  marks  the  burial  of  the  issues  wc  have  fought  over;  it  ends  the 
Solid  South;  it  cleanses  the  bloody  sliirt;  it  unifies  all  .sections  and  makes  us  one 
people;  it  buries  partisanship,  based  upon  .sectional  and  territorial  divisions,  in  a 
grave  which,  we  trust,  will  never  be  reopened,  and  erects  upon  it  a  monument  of 
eternal  patriotism. 

The  administration  which  undertakes  the  beginning  of  a  new  century  has  a 
responsibility  and  duty  larger  than  has  fallen  to  an\-  other  administration  .save  two; 
the  first,  Wa.shington's;  the  .second,  Lincoln's.  With  tlie  enormous  power  which 
now  belongs  to  the   jiresidency  of   the  United    States    the    President   becomes    the 


party.  The  part\-  cannot  escajx-  hnni  his  acts,  cannot  flee  from  liis  character, 
cannot  deny  his  recomniendations.  It  li\-es  and  triumphs,  it  falls  into  decay  and 
is  defeated  by  his  grasp  upon  the  needs  of  the  present  and  the  necessities  of  the 
future.  The  great  questions  which  are  to  develop  an  industrial  nation  and  keep  it 
prosperous — the  great  (piestions  whose  proper  settlement  means  credit  or  bank- 
ruj3tc\- — are  prol^lenis  which  will  press  upon  the  coming  administration,  and  by  the 
way  in  which  it  handles  them  the  organization  behind  it  will  continue  in  power,  or 
be  forced  into  a  minority.  We,  after  this  victor\',  witli  the  smoke  cleared  away  and 
calm  judgment  returned,  look,  with  unquestioning  confidence,  to  the  future  and  the 
man  who  is  to  administer  it.  His  courage  has  been  tested;  his  judgment  has  been 
proved;  his  faculties  have  irradiated  the  Republic  with  their  mar\-elous  acti\-it\'  and 
steadiness;  his  integrity,  character,  ami  abilit>-  fill  the  full  measure  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  presidential  office.  The  Republican  Party  says  to  Pi'esident  Harrison, 
"Hail,  Chief  I      Lead  on;   we  follow." 

[Loud  ajiplause  and  cheers.      Three  cheers  for  Chauncey  M.  r)e|)ew.] 


Mr.  Dki'KW  : — (Gentlemen,  we  luue  with  us  a  gentleman  who  is  not  on 
the  regular  list  of  speakers,  bxit  we  all  want  to  hear  him  :  Hon.  Warner  Aliller. 
[Loud  cheers  for  Aliller.]  Though  not  mentioned  in  the  list,  where  McCiregor 
sits,  there  is  the  head  of  the  table.  I  introduce  him  without  any  .sentiment  but 
himself. 

39 


Mr. 

I'RKsn 

)i;.\T   . 

AM.    C. 

KXTLK-AiKx;— I 

Re 

pul 

)lic;lll 

orators  who 

for  th 

e  past 

two    IlKJ 

till 

■oil! 

y\i  tlif 

State, 

and  b 

y  their 

words 

of  wisd 

doiiig- 

so  iiiuch  to 

arouse 

'  and  e 

iithuse 

our  peo] 

:\IR.    MII.LKR. 

c-auie  here,  i^ladly,  to  join  with  tlie 
itlis  ha\-e  been  .yoing  up  and  down 
loin,  and  by  their  i)rivile,;e  of  speech, 
id  I  esteem  it  a  great  pri\-ilege 
to-night  to  be  permitted  to  meet  with  these  g-entlemen,  to  receive  their  greetings, 
and  to  greet  them.  During  all  iin-  campaign  it  was  scarcely  ever  ni\'  privilege  to 
listen  to  any  voice  save  my  own.  I  am  not  going  to-night  to  take  up  the  time  of 
the  campaign  speakers — it  belongs  to  them  upon  this  occasion.  As  brother  Depew 
has  said,  every  speaker  desires  the  whole  evening  for  himself,  and  it  certainlv  would 
not  Ik-  proper  that  I  should  upon  an  occasion  like  this  obtrude  mvself,  or  any 
lengthy  speech,  upon  the  gentlemen  who  are  here  assembled. 

I  have  very  few  words  to  say,  indeed.  I  believe  that  the  \  ictor\-  that  we  have 
won  in  the  nation  far  exceeds  in  importance  anything  that  has  happened  in  our 
day.  This  government  has  been  restored  to  the  men  and  the  partv  that  saved  it. 
.\  reaction  had  set  in,  and  this  government  had  been  turne<l  over,  absolutely,  into  the 
power  of  the  men  who  .sought  to  destroy  it.  ,Sonie  of  us  had  looked  on  in  wonder 
to  .see  what  .should  become  of  a  government  like  ours,  which — witliin  one-quarter  of 
a  centnr>-  after  a  spontaneous  war  waged,  on  the  part  of  a  portion  of  our  people,  for 
its  destruction— should  be  found,  in  all  its  powers  of  legislation,  and  in  all  its 
executive  departments,  absolutely  under  the  control  and  genius  of  the  men  who 
had  ri.seii  up  in  rebellion  against  it. 

The  four  years  have  gone  by,  and  the  American  people,  looking  on  upon  this 
strange  and  rare  sight,  have  come  to  their  .senses  and  have  restored  this  government, 

4'-' 


I  sa>-,  to  the  hands  of  the  men  and  the  party  that  saved  it.  The  lesson  that  has 
been  learned  by  onr  people  in  this  campaign,  arising  from  the  threat  that  has  been 
made  against  its  indnstries,  its  prosperity,  and  its  progress,  is  snfficient,  in  my 
judgment,  to  retain  this  government  in  the  hands  of  the  Republican  Party  for  at 
least  the  next  generation.  We  cannot  measure  the  benefits  that  should  come  to  us 
from  this  change.  If  we  want  to  make  a  comparis(jn;  if  we  want  to  disco\-er  what 
benefits  are  to  come  from  returning  this  go\-ernment  to  the  hands  of  the  Republican 
Party,  we  have  onlv  to  go  over  the  history  of  this  government,  from  iSCn  down  to 
the  present  time,  and  there  to  learn  of  the  wonderful  growth  and  develoi>nient  of 
this  country  under  Republican  rules  and  Republican  principles,  to  be  able  to  torm 
some  faint  idea,  at  least,  of  what  shall  be  the  future  growth  and  prosperity  of  this 
countr\-  under  a  continuation  of  that  rule  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  more. 

As  ]\Ir.  Depew  has  said,  we  are  just  ending  the  first  hundred  years  of  the  rule 
of  American  presidents.  During  the  past  twent>--five  years,  while  under  Repub- 
lican presidents,  the  growth  of  this  countr>'  was  four  times  as  great  as  it  had  been 
during  the  whole  twenty-five  years  preceding  it;  and  now,  with  the  accumulation 
of  wealth;  with  the  accuuuilation  of  capital  ;  with  the  accumulation  of  experience 
and  skill  which  we  now  have  in  this  country,  can  anv  one  undertake  to  foretell  or 
forecast  what  shall  be  the  growth  of  this  country  during  the  next  twenty-five 
years  ? 

The  Republican  Party  has  given  this  country  every  reform  that  has  come  to 
it  during  the  past  half-century.  It  has  settled  every  great  question  that  hat;  been 
presented  to  the  .\merican  people.  First,  it  decided  that  the  curse  of  slavery  should 
be  restricted  and  confined  within  close  limits;  and  then,  when  one  portion  (.>f  our 
people  rose  up  in  rebellion  against  that  proposition,  the  Republican  Party  not  only 

41 


maintained  nnity  and  perpetnated  the  ITnion,  bnt  it  went  further,  and  settled  the 
slavery  question  by  abolishing;-  it.  Durin.i;  all  the  first  seventy-five  years  of  our 
history  the  idea,  or  the  belief,  of  the  ri.i;ht  of  a  State  to  nullify  the  laws  of 
Congress,  or  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede  from  this  go\ernment  if  it  saw  fit,  had 
found  credence  and  belief  throughout  a  large  portion  of  this  countr\-.  The  Repub- 
lican party  settled  that  question  b>-  forever  annihilating  the  idea  that  a  single  State 
could  nullifv  a  law  of  Congress,  or  could  withdraw  from  this  government  if  it 
desired  to  do  so.  It  settled  then  the  question  of  secession,  and  it  settled  it  against 
it.  Then,  it  has  .settled  the  great  question  of  our  finances.  It  has  done  what  no 
other  nation  ever  undertook  to  do;  that  is,  to  pay  its  debts  incurred  in  war.  In 
.short,  it  has  .settled  every  public  question  that  has  been  presented  to  it. 

The  last  great  question — and  one  not  less  important,  in  my  judgment,  than 
any  of  the  others — it  has  settled  in  this  country  is  the  industrial  question;  settled  it 
beyond  any  revocation  or  change — at  all  events,  within  the  lives  of  the  men  here 
present.  No  party,  no  set  of  men  will  be  bold  enough,  in  the  near  future,  to  pro- 
pose for  the  serious  consideration  of  the  American  people,  that  our  industries  shall 
be  broken  down  that  foreign  industries  ma>-  be  built  up.  Xo  part}-  nor  .set  of  men 
will,  in  the  near  future,  advocate  the  idea  that  American  labor  shall  be  empty- 
handed  and  idle  in  our  streets,  in  order  that  foreign  labor  ma\-  be  emi)lo)ed  in 
foreign  lands.  The  Rei)ublican  Partx-  has  settled  this  question  and,  in  settling  it, 
has  restored  the  walls  of  progress  in  every  ])art  of  this  couutr\-.  Every  man  knows 
to-night  that  he  may  with  .safety  undertake  any  enterprise;  every  man  knows  to- 
night that  if  he  has  any  ca])ital  saved  u])  he  may  put  it  into  American  industries — 
American  mims,  .\merican  manufactures,  and  American  products  of  e\-ery  kind; 
and  he  knows  that  this  growing  si.\t}-  millions  of  people,  growing  constantly  as  it 

42 


is  in  mnnbers ;  crrowino-  constantly  in  intellio:ence ;  ^[rowing  constantly  in  its 
incroasino;  demands  npon  the  industries  of  the  country  for  the  supply  of  the  wants 
which  come  to  a  civilized  people — I  say,  every  man  knows  to-night  that  here  in 
this  land  there  is  to  be  an  abundant  market  for  every  product  that  can  be  produced 
in  this  countrv.  And  everv  laboring  man  knows,  also,  that  he  is  to  have  securit\-  in 
his  labor;  he  knows  that  in  the  future  he  is  to  have  a  rate  of  wages  which  will  not 
only  give  him  food  and  clothing,  but  one  which  will  give  him  hope  that  he  may 
one  day  become  a  capitalist  himself  Such  a  condition  lifts  labor  up  and  puts  it 
upon  a  higher  plane,  for  it  makes  it  certain  to  our  intelligent  laboring  men  that  they 
shall  become  the  owners  of  their  own  homes;  that  they  shall  become  independent  in 
their  callings. 

And  so,  I  sav,  no  man  to-night  can,  by  any  possibility  compute,  or  even 
imagine,  the  great  results  that  are  to  come  to  the  American  people— to  all  of  us— 
because  of  the  victor\-  that  we  have  won.  It  is  not  merely  a  victory  which  changes 
petty  offices;  it  is  not  a  victory  which  merely  turns  out  this  tide-waiter  and  puts  in 
another  tide-waiter;  it  is  a  victory  which  reaches  every  home  and  hearthstone  in 
this  country  and  which  builds  up  and  makes  a  greater,  stronger,  freer  people.  And 
this  Republican  Party,  in  my  judgment,  will  meet  in  the  future,  just  as  it  has  in 
the  past,  everv  great  and  important  question  that  may  be  submitted  to  it.  I  have 
no  doubt  of  it  at  all.  Just  as  it  met  slavery  and  secession,  and  has  gone  forward 
during  all  the  manv  years  of  its  life  in  which  it  brought  success,  so  this  party 
stands  ready  to-day  to  lift  up  every  banner  which  may  bear  upon  it  an  in.scription 
which  is  in  the  interest  of  home  and  virtue  and  of  all  of  our  people. 

The  Republican  Party  has  brought  about  every  reform  that  we  ha\-e  had 
within  the  past  fifty  )-ears,  and  we  are  to  look  to  it  for  every  reform  that  is  to  come 

43 


ill  the  near  futiire.  First,  it  is  bound  to  take  hold  of  the  .^rcat  problem  of  ballot 
reform.  We  ha\e  witnessed,  in  the  last  few  years,  in  this  great  State  of  ours  which 
has  now  orowii  to  be  an  empire,  with  its  vast  wealth  and  accumulations  of  moiie)' — 
we  have  witnessed  treachery,  corruption,  bribery,  in  the  highest  offices  and  at  the 
polls,  unequaled  in  the  history  of  this  country,  and,  I  judge,  in  the  history  of  the 
world;  and  we  are  going  to  settle  these  questions,  and  see  to  it  that  the  fundamental 
principles  of  this  government  are  not  overturned.  We  differ  from  other  civilized 
nation.?  to-day  chiefly  in  this:  That  we  appeal  to  the  judgment  and  views  of  every 
man,  and  of  every  citizen,  to  say  what  shall  be  our  government,  and  what  shall  be 
our  princijiles,  and  how  that  government  shall  be  administered;  and,  therefore,  any 
corruption  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  any  system  which  leads  necessarily  to  the 
payment  of  large  assessments  by  officeholders,  no  matter  what  their  rank  ma\-  be, 
and  particularly  when  it  shall  affect  the  judiciary  of  this  country,  cannot  fail  to 
work  serious  and  lasting  evil. 

The  Republican  Party  has  taken  up  this  question.  I  want  to  say  here  that, 
in  my  judgment,  it  will  never  cease  its  agitation  of  it  until  it  shall  evolve  a  system 
of  elections  in  this  country  which  shall  make  corruption  and  bribery  at  the  polls 
substantially  impossible,  .so  that,  when  the  ballot-box  has  received  the  vote  of  the 
American  citizen  and  it  shall  have  been  counted,  all  of  the  people  will  accept  the 
decision  without  fear  or  hesitation,  knowing  it  to  be  the  unbought,  unprejudiced, 
unterrified,  and  uninfluenced  voice  of  all  of  our  people.  I  believe  it  will  meet  that 
(piestion,  and  I  believe  it  will  meet  the  other  great  question  of  temperance  reform 
also,  and  meet  it  successfnlK'.  .\  free  peojile,  a  self-governing  people — where  every 
citizen  above  twent\'-one  years  of  age  is  a  voter — must  be  a  sober  people;  otherwise 
it  cannot  be  a  safe  government. 

44 


The  Republican  Partv  has  inel  this  .i;reat  question  of  teniperauce  reform  in  a 
majority  of  the  States  tiiat  are  uow  under  Republican  rule.  Whatever  advance  has 
been  made  in  the  last  t\venty-fi\-e  \ears  in  this  case  has  been  made  by  the  Repub- 
lican Party,  and  the  people  must  look  to  them  for  advancement  or  success  in  that 
direction  also.  I  believe  that  here  in  the  State  of  Xew  York,  notwithstandiuo-  the 
great  power  and  influence  of  the  saloon,  that  the  cause  which  was  advocated  b\-  the 
Republican  Party  in  the  late  campaign— that  of  high  license— is  certain  to  triumph 
in  the  near  future.  The  Republican  Part>-  is  committed  to  it,  and  the  Republican 
Part^■  has  ne\-er  yet  in  its  history,  Mr.  President,  taken  a  step  forward  upon  a 
question  of  reform  and  then  gone  back,  and  if  it  should  now  attempt  to  go  back,  it 
will  end  in  the  ab.solute  and  unquestioned  dissolution  of  the  party. 

1  believe,  from  what  I  have  seen  as  I  have  traveled  over  this  great  empire  of 
ours,  and  have  stood  before  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  people  in  the  last 
six  weeks,  I  believe  that  the  tide  is  now  rising  in  that  direction,  and  that  it  is  just 
as  certain  to  overwhelm  and  destroy  the  opposing  forces  as  the  tide  is  to  rise  and 
fall  in  New  York  Bay  to-morrow.  At  all  events,  the  Republican  Party  is  embarked 
in  that  great  cause,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  any  considerable  portion  of  its  num- 
bers desire  to  go  back.  I  have  enlisted  in  the  cause,  and  I  gave  the  opposing  forces 
notice  that,  no  matter  what  might  be  the  result  of  the  late  campaign  and  election, 
this  war  would  go  on  until  a  glorious  victory  had  been  won.  I  gave  the  opposing 
forces  notice,  since  this  election  closed,  that  this  last  contest  upon  the  State  was 
simplv  the  first  Bull  Run,  and  that  it  would  go  on  until  we  received  their  uncondi- 
tional surrender  at  their  Appomatox. 

[Three  cheers  for  Warner  Miller.] 
45 


Mr.  Dkpkw: — A  gallant  soldier,  a  perfect  gentleman,  an  ideal  Republican, 
was  the  lieutenant  under  Warner  Miller.  He  is  nut  a  speaker,  and  does  not  claim 
to  be,   but  he  can  stand  up  and  be  counted:    Colonel   Cruger. 

COLONKI.  CRUGER. 

Mr.  Presidkxt: — I  think,  sir,  that  you  will  confirm  the  statement  that  I  am 
not  one  of  that  noble  band  of  one  hundred  and  ele\en  who  have  asked  you  to  gi\'e 
them  a  chance;  it  would  therefore  be  inapjjropriate  in  me  to  monopt)lize  the  time 
which  it  is  \our  duty  and  pleasure  to  accord  them.  I  came  here  to-night  to  enjoy 
the  intellectual  feast  prejjared  for  us  by  the  vSpellbinders  of  that  most  remarkable 
and  interesting  campaign  which  was  brought  to  a  triumj-ihaiit  conclusion  on  Ttiesday 
of  last  week.  While  I  was  one  of  the  wounded  in  that  contest,  I  have  so  far  recup- 
erated, under  the  healing  influences  of  the  National  victor}-,  as  to  be  able  to  stand 
uj)  here  to-night  and  rejoice  as  heartily  as  any  one  of  you  in  the  triumphant 
election  of  our  gallant  standard  bearers — Harrison  and  Morton. 

I  feel  that  the  Republican  Party  did  itself  honor  in  having  the  courage  to 
inscribe  on  its  banner  "  High  License  and  liallot  Reform,"  and  that  it  acted  wiselv 
in  selecting  as  its  standard  bearer  in  this  .State  a  man  who  had  the  courage  of  his 
convictions;  who  clearly  stated  those  convictions  to  the  people  of  almost  e\-er}- 
count\-.  I  believe  that  by  this  action  of  the  Republican  Party  we  will  eventnallv 
see  our  cause  triumphant   in   this  .State. 

I  will  not  detain  these  eloquent  speakers  who  are  here  to-night  1)\-  any  further 
remarks;   simply  thanking  \-ou  for  calling   upon  me. 

46 


Mr.  Dkpkw:— ("Tentleinen,  I  take  special  pleasnve  in  introducin.^^  the  next 
speaker.  He  took  a  newspaper,  pnt  into  it  his  enerq-y,  behind  it  his  fortnne,  and 
ran  it  as  tlie  only  Repnblican  evenini,^  paper  in  New  York.  Its  admirable  manage- 
ment and  its  intelligent  discussion  of  the  great  questions  was  one  of  the  marked 
elements  of  our  success.  In  addition  to  that,  in  every  way  a  man  could  assist 
in  the  canvass,  he  did  not  onh'  his  full  share,  but  more  than  anybody  could 
a.sk  of  him.  I  am  ver>-  happy  to  present,— as  you  will  be  to  welcome,— Colonel 
Elliott  I".    Shepard. 

[Cries  of,  "What's  the  matter  with  the  Mail  and  F.xpirss"'  "He's  all 
right  I"       "Three  cheers  for  Shepard!"] 

ELLIOTT   V.   SHEPARD. 

Mr.  Pre.sidknt  .v.nd  Ff.llow-Citizen.s:— According  to  the  printed  list  a 
text  has  been  given  to  me,  [laughter]  which  is,  "The  Influence  of  the  Press  upon 
the  Campaign,"  and,  with  your  permission,  I  will  stick  to  the  text  as  a  nailer  does 
to  his  heads. 

Firsth-,  then,  I  would  sa>-  that  the  operation  of  the  Press— that  ]>rofession  in 
which  I  am  only  a  />;?;Tr;///— has  been,  in  this  campaign,  ver\-  much  like  that  of  a 
cotton-press.  The  resolutions  of  the  Chicago  National  Convention  of  Republicans 
furnished  the  platform.     The  National  Committee,  the  State  Committees,  and  the 

47 


various  Countv  Coinniittecs  furnished  the  frame-work,  the  uprights,  and  tlic  cross- 
ties.  The  mills  and  factories  and  industries  of  the  country  furnished  the  machin- 
ery. The  hydraulic  engineers  were  that  Titan  of  the  Press,  Whitelaw  Reid; 
Charles  Kmory  Smith,  of  the  Philadelphia  Press:  Field-Marshal  Alurat  Halstead,  of 
the  Cinciiiiiati  Coiiiuirriial;  Joseph  Medill,  of  the  Cliicago  Tiil)u>ic;  Robert  P. 
Porter,  of  the  .Wrr  )'()/■/■  Press;  with  their  fellow-Republican  editors;  and  they 
stood  read\-  to  turn  on  the  power,  which  was  the  will  of  the  people.     [Applause.] 

Then  the  vSpellbinders  all  lent  a  hand.  [Cheers.]  They  gathered  up  the 
free  trade  bal)y,  they  wrapped  it  in  a  bandanna,  they  wheeled  it  upon  the  platform, 
they  adjusted  it  just  under  the  timber  bulkhead  of  the  Press.  When  everything 
was  ready  the  (ieneral  vSuperintendent,  (leneral  Harrison,  of  Indianapolis,  [cheers] 
gave  the  word  of  command,  "Turn  on  the  screwsl"  Then,  with  the  precision  and 
certainty  of  an  irresistible  power,  the  ballots  began  to  flow  in,  and  down  came  the 
bulkhead  of  the  Press  upon  this  little  form,  wrapping  its  ribs  around  it  several  times 
over  and  crushing  the  very  life  out  of  it.  Then  the  Spellbinders  stepped  up  and, 
with  bands,  not  of  aiiiia,  l)ut  of  iron,  bound  it.  The  machinery  was  then  re\'ersed 
and  the  little  carcass  taken  out,  shrix'clcd  like  an  Eg\ptian  mummy,  and  hiero- 
ghphed  and  frescoed  over  with  the  name  of  "Cirox-er."  [Laughter.]  It  was  then 
put  on  the  truck  and  shipped  up  Salt  river  to  the  Never-after.  And  the  work 
having  been  done,  we  are  here  to-night  having  a  good  time.     [Applau.se.] 

vSecondly,  the  Press  is  something  like  the  phonograph  and  the  graphophone, 
with  the  addition  that,  while  with  them  you  have  to  use  an  audiphone  to  hear 
what  they  have  to  sa\-  to  you,  with  the  Press  you  only  have  to  pull  the  wool  off 
your  eyes  and  see.  Nearly  everything  they  print  is  something  that  has  first  been 
spoken  by  somebody.     If  you   should   desire   to-morrow,  or  hereafter  at   an}'  time, 

4'^ 


to  reproduce  the  speech  of  the  American  Cicero — [cheers  for  Depew]  the  gentleinan 
wlio  presides  this  e\-eriing — it  would  be  only  necessary  to  go  to  Hoe's  c^'linder — 
that  cylinder  with  which  we  print  two  thousand  papers  a  minute,  and  find  it  \-ery 
far  superior  to  the  little  cylinder  of  wax  or  of  tin  foil  which  the  graphophone  uses, 
and  which  takes  twice  the  length  of  time  to  reproduce  what  it  contains  than  it 
took  to  deliver  the  original — and  \-ou  will  ha\e  a  speech  which  will  be  heard  and 
listened  to  and  admired  by  not  only  an  assemblage  of  one  hundred  and  eleven, 
but  by  a  crowd  much  larger  than  that  which  he  ever  addressed  at  iJinghamton, 
which  covered  a  ten-acre  lot;  a  crowd  which  will  nund^er  millions  of  people,  and 
which  will  cover  the  whole  C(>untr\-.      [Ajjplause  and  cheers.] 

Thirdly,  the  influence  of  the  Republican  Press  will  be  very  much  strength- 
ened if  the  good  people  will  desist  from  jjatronizing  the  Democratic  Press.  Tliey 
can  find  out  everything  tliat  is  necessar\-  for  them  to  know  alioul  what  the  otlier 
side  says  from  the  replies  which  the  Rei)ublican  Press  nud<e  to  it;  and,  if  the\-  are 
sustained  in  this  matter,  the  Re])ublican  Press  will  be  such  an  educator  of  the  people 
that  you  will  never  need,  in  the  f\iture  presidential  elections,  to  stand  trendding, 
wondering  how  the  great  State  of  Xew  York  is  going.  She  will  be  on  the  side  of 
the  Republican  Part\-  b>-  such  an  o\erwhelming  and  apparent  majority  that  the 
Democrats  will  always  give  it  u])  in  advance.      [.\pi)lause.] 

Fourthly,  the  sentiment  which  runs  thmugh  the  Republican  papers  has  the 
patriotic  colors — red,  white,  and  blue;  [applause]  and  that  is  as  true  moralh'  as  it  is 
true  physically  of  the  Lockport  Daily  Jonnial.  This  jimrnal,  [exhibiting  it]  on  the 
morning  after  the  election,  had  its  first  jjage  coxered  with  red,  white,  and  blue 
stripes.  It  has  downed  the  bandanna,  and  the  vStars  and  vStrijies  are  on  the  top. 
lu   this   way    that   journal    painted    that    city    red    on    the    recent    Re]Md)lican    cel- 

49 


ebrations;  and  tlie  joke  of  tlie  iiiatlcr  is  that  it  was  the  Democratic  sheet  in 
tliat  city  tliat  had  prepared  to  do  tliis  thing,  and,  finding  it  had  no  occasion  to 
nse  its  materials,  persnaded  the  Rejiublican  paper  to  bny  tliem.  [Langhter  and 
applanse.] 

Fifthly,  and  lastly;  I  think  that  evervl.xxly  will  concede  that,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  Republican  Press,  Harrison  and  .Morton  would  not  have  been  elected. 
[Loud  applause  and  cheers.]  And,  therefore,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Spell- 
binders, whose  audiences  we  make  so  much  larger  than  can  be  reached  bv  their 
single  voices,  in  1892  the  Republican  Press  will  again  undertake  to  elect  your 
Republican  nominees.     [Cheers.] 


Mr.  Dki'KW: — (ientleuien,  a  soldier  with  an  historic  name,  identified  with 
the  best  traditions  of  the  oldest  commonwealth — the  mother  of  Presidents, — at  sev- 
enteen followed  the  enthusiasms  of  his  school  and  section,  went  into  the  Confederate 
army,  was  touched  in  the  head  by  a  Federal  bullet,  and  has  been  the  patriotic 
.standard  bearer  of  Republicanism  in  his  State  ever  since.  It  affords  me  great 
])Ieasure  to  introduce  to  you  one  of  those  intellectual  forces  converted  bv  material 
elenients  which  are  rapidly  making  Virginia  a  Republican  State;  a  gentleman 
who  has  ,ser\ed  with  distinction  in  Congress  as  a  southern  Republican  congressman, 
wliosc  views  are  sound,  and  whose  rare  elo([uence  is  inherited,  and  still  all  his 
own:    Mr.    Wise,   of   \'irgiuia. 

50 


MR.   WISE. 

Mk.  Chaikm.w:— I  have  heard  to-ni.Q;ht  for  tlie  first  time,  a  pleasant  version 
of  the  influences  which  made  me  a  Republican.  Tlie  Democrats  in  my  .section 
,t;-ive  the  little  circumstance  to  which  the  chairman  referred  quite  a  different  turn. 
Their  contention  is  that  I  was  shot  in  the  head  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  my 
brain  has  never  been  right  since.  [Laughter  and  applause.]  Be  that  as  it  may,  I 
am  here,  in  a  fortunate  position  as  to  speaking  because,  following  the  toast  to  the 
Press,  I  can  testify  that  its  influence  must  be  most  powerful  for  good,  seeing  its 
infinite  power  for  harm  in  the  section  from  which  I  come..     [Applause.] 

Like  my  predecessor  I  had  a  te.xt  given  to  me,  but  it  is  very  old.  It  is  called 
the  "Solid  South;"  a  thing  which  we  came  here,  not  to  praise,  but  to  bury.  It  was 
in  this  room,  if  I  mistake  not,  at  a  famous  banquet  of  the  New  England  Society, 
that  we  had  great  promise  vears  ago  aljout  a  new  Smith.  What  it  would  do  was 
painted  in  words  that  were  matchless  in  their  fit  and  in  their  sound,  but  they  were 
as  empty  in  results  as  the  professions,  politicallv,  of  the  section  from  which  they 
came.     [Applause.] 

I  am  here  as  a  Republican  who  has  left  the  South  almost  in  despair;  and  yet 
ardent  and  staunch  in  the  hope  that  the  Republican  Party,  restored  to  power,  will 
do  its  dutv  bv  the  South,  and  make  it  honest  in  its  elections.  I  come  as  one  who 
cast  his  lot  with  the  Confederate  cause,  and  loves  the  memory  of  the  Confederate 
dead,  but  who  has  lived  to  see  and  realize  the  final  settlement  of  every  aspiration  of 
that  struggle,  and  know  that  we  have  a  perpetual  I'nion  for  the  future,  broad 
enough  and  big  enough  for  every  honest  man  beneath  its  banner.  [Applause.]  I 
am  here  to  say  to  the   Republican   Party  of  this  country,  in  all  seriousness,  at  the 


iiiosi  i()\  All  period  of  its  existence,  and  \-et  at  a  period  more  freii^lited  with  respon- 
sibilit\'  than  an\-  other,  that  the  ,t;Teat,  the  oversliadowin.i;  qnestion  which  confronts 
it  on  its  restoration  to  power  is  Whetlier  it  will  <^ive  to  the  American  people 
snch  gnarantees  of  snfFrat^e  as  will  .^ive  them  faith  in  tlie  honest>-  of  our  form  of 
government,  and  teach  all  Americans  that  the  right  of  castinjj;  a  ballot  means 
the  right  to  cast  it,  and  that,  when  cast,  it  shall  lie  counted  at  all  hazards. 
[Applause.] 

I  do  not  come  from  the  Solid  .South.  [Applause.]  I  come  from  a  .State  that 
has  ens/  its  vote  with  the  Republicans  since  i.S,S4,  and  has  not  been  coitiitfd  Repub- 
lican merely  because  the  Republican  Party  has  not  done  its  duty  in  seeing  that  the 
\-ote  should  be  counted  as  it  was  cast.  We  belong  to  a  party  wliich,  having  won  a 
victor\-.  has  shown  itself  lionest  enough  to  pay  for  it;  catholic  enough  to  forgive  its 
bitterness;  wise  enough  to  adiniuister  the  government  liberally;  strong  in  mau\- 
things;  reckless  in  few;  and  yet  which  was  rash  enough  to  invest  a  great  mass  of 
people  with  a  franchise  sufficient  to  overthrow  its  own  power  unless  the  new  \-oters 
were  guarded  and  guaranteed  in  the  exercise  of  the  rights  wliich  the  part\-  ga\e 
them.  I  ha\e  wondered,  in  tlie  four  years  during  which  the  Republican  Part\-  was 
out  of  p(.)wer,  at  the  patience  and  ])atriotism  which  ha\-e  enabled  Republicans 
quietly  to  stand  by  and  .see  this  government  .stolen  by  the  very  power  wliich  thev 
had  placed  unprotected  in  the  hands  of  the  .South.  Ves,  I  .sav,  stolen,  (irover 
Cleveland,  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  knows  he  was  never  President  of  the  Ignited 
States,  (irover  Cleveland,  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  knows  that  the  people  know  he 
was  never  President  of  the  United  .States.  [Cries  of,  "Yes,"  "Yes."]  Yet  the 
Reimblican  Party — not  revolutionary,  not  a  shot-gun  jjartv,  not  a  Ixillot-box-stuffing 
party,  not  a  negro  killing  i)arty — has  patiently  bided  and  waited   its  time,  and  been 


rewarded  with    that    restoration   to  power  which    it  knew    must  come    when    the 
people  pondered  at  the  wrong  of  1SS4.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  gentlemen,  the  lesson  which  we  have  learned  will  not  be 
lost.  Through  adversity  comes  wisdom,  and  through  damage  by  past  neglect 
comes  caution  against  future  recurrence  of  the  wrong  and  injury.  Such  bitter 
experiences  as  we  have  had  will  teach  us  most  valuable  lessons,  yet  they  have  been 
mingled  with  absurdities  which  we  have  reall\-  enjoyed.  Our  little  banishment  at 
Elba  has  not  been  free  from  its  amusements.  It  was  really  ludicrous  to  see  a  man, 
whose  title  was  founded  in  a  fraud  which  none  knew  better  than  himself,  posing  as 
the  champion  and  exponent  of  a  higher  moral  era.  [Applause.]  It  has  been  an 
interesting  sight  to  behold  a  Texas  manager  of  "  bucking  bronchos"  appear  in  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  nation  to  teach  its  people  the  first  principles  of  politi- 
cal economy.  [Loud  and  long  applause.]  The  pla>-  has  been  worth  the  candle. 
It  was  refreshing  to  .see  a  man  who  never  knew  any  manufacturing  indnstry  except 
the  making  of  turpentine  from  North  Carolina  pine  knots,  come  up  tu  the  great 
spinning  looms  of  Xew  Kngland  to  teach  them  what  the  real  interests  of  manufac- 
turers were.  [Applau.se.]  It  has  been  novel  and  startling  to  see  the  kind  of  people 
raked  up  from  the  recesses  of  oldivion,  who  have  masqueraded  in  major-general's 
uniforms  in  foreign  courts,  and  gotten  druid^  abroad  in  honor  of  Democratic 
success.  [Applause.]  All  this  is  fresh  and  refreshing,  nut  having  gone  too 
far,  and  the  country  having  been  redeemed  in  time  to  prevent  its  becoming  dan- 
gerous. The  strut  and  pomp,  the  panoply  and  circumstances  of  latter-day  Democ- 
racy has  had  no  parallel  since  the  da\-  when  Lincoln  freed  the  Southern  darkies. 
And  the  most  amusing  thing  of  all  is  that  the  happiest  people  at  getting  out  of  the 
trouble  are  the  Democrats  themselves.     The\-  have  run  the  government  just  about 

53 


as  far  as  they  knew  how.     Tlicy  are  at  heart  iininenseh-  relieved  at  a  result  which 
puts  an  end  to  their  responsibility.     [Applause.] 

I  liaxx-  heard  our  friends  here  to-ni.i^ht  speak  of  many  thint^s  which  we 
Reiniblicans  did  to  defeat  the  Democratic  Party.  If  they  will  pardon  me  for  taking 
a  little  from  their  laurels,  I  will  .say  that  the  most  effective  factor  in  this  defeat  has 
been  the  Democratic  Part\-  itself  Four  years  of  administration  was  enough  to  put 
them  into  political  bankruptcy.  What  have  they  done  that  was  promised  ?  Thev 
came  into  power  ujion  the  cry  that  "  Public  office  was  a  public  trust,"  and  their 
chief  who  uttered  this  noble  sentiment  has  wound  up  his  career  bv  pa\-ing  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  sta\-  in  that  public  trust,  and  dispense  offices  as  a  private  per- 
(piisite.  [.Applause.]  They  came  in  with  a  cry  against  a.s.ses.sments  for  public  office, 
and  yet,  I  venture  to  assert  that  in  the  history  of  this  government  there  never 
was  .so  positive  a  signal  given  by  the  executive  of  this  nation  for  "the  bovs  "  to 
"chip  in,"  as  when  Grover  Cleveland  sent  in  his  check  for  ten  thou.sand  dollars. 
[.Applause.]  They  came  into  power  pledged  to  Civil  Service  Reform;  thev  go  out, 
after  four  years,  with  a  record  of  removals  unparalleled  in  the  historv  of  partisan 
legislation.  [.V pplau.se.]  They  came  into  office  with  the  promi.se  that  the  accumu- 
lated surjilus  would  be  distriljuted.  They  leave  exactly  twice  the  amount  there 
that  was  in  the  coffers  when  they  took  charge.  They  came  in  denouncing  the 
Internal  Revenue  system  of  this  government.  In  four  vears  thev  have  made  the 
perpetuation  of  Internal  Revenue  the  bulwark  and  basis  of  the  Democratic  plan 
of  taxation.  They  came  in  with  the  promise  of  a  liberal  education,  and  thev  three 
times  defeated  the  Republican  measures  for  the  remed>-  of  illiteracv.  There  is  not 
line  ])romisc  of  Democracy  which  has  been  redeemed,  from  the  reduction  of  the 
tariff  to  the  production  of  a   little   President.      [Laughter   and  applause.]      Is  it 

54 


surprising,  then,  that  to  every  proposition  of  ours  to  discuss,  in  the  last  campaign, 
tliev  said  there  was  no  issue  in  the  canvass.      [Laughter  and  applause.] 

But,  why  read  over  the  indictment?  The  prisoner  has  been  arraigned, 
pleaded,  been  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced;  and  we  are  back  !  We  are  back, 
because  the  Democratic  Party  was  glad  to  give  up  the  thing.  We  are  once  more 
in  power,  because  there  are  many  Democrats  who  have  found  that  the\-  were  disap- 
pointed in  the  trinmi)h  of  Democracy,  from  which  they  e.xpected  so  much.  I  con- 
fess that  I  have  no  s\-nipathy  for  their  misfortunes,  and  feel  indescribable  mirth  at 
their  sorrv  plight.  Poor  Cleveland's  luck  has  failed  them,  and  now  they  are  piling 
their  denunciations  upon  him.  Amen  !  .So  be  it.  A  Democrat  asked  me,  a  few 
davs  ago,  what  I  thought  was  the  cause  of  their  defeat.  I  told  him  I  did  not  know 
exactlv,  but  mav  be  it  was  because  they  did  not  have  hog-killiug  at  the  right  time 
last  vear.  [Laughter.]  Another  one  .said.  Well,  he  didn't  care  much  aljout  it 
anyhow;  that  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Democracy  rewarded  its  followers 
and  workers  witli  promises,  and  paid  its  old  promi.ses  with  new  ones.  He  illus- 
trated what  he  received  for  being  a  Democrat  by  a  little  story,  with  which,  I  have 
no  doubt,  many  of  \ou  are  fiimiliar,  but  I  will  repeat  it.  There  was  a  little  darkey 
in  our  .section  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  playing  on  the  street  corner  every 
evening  with  his  friends.  He  disajipeared  for  several  da>-s.  When  he  came  back 
one  of  the  bovs  said,  "  P.ill,  you're  not  playing  with  the  boys  these  eveniu's;  what's 
the  nuitter?"  He  .said,  "I'm  working  now."  The  first  boy  said,  "Who  are  yon 
working  for?"  "Oh,  I  am  working  for  my  iiuunun."  "Is  she  pa\iug  you?" 
"Oh,  yes."  "  What  are  you  doing?  "  "  Well,  I  am  cutting  wood."  "What  does 
vonr  nu)ther  give  vou?"  "Two  cents  an  eveuin'."  He  said,  "I  don't  lielieve 
yon;  I  never  see  you  have  any  money."      "Oh,  no,  I  ain't  got  no  money;  mammy 

55 


keeps  it  for  inc."  "What  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  money  yon  are  earning?" 
"Well,"  said  he,  hesitatingly,  "  mammy  says  she's  gwine  to  buy  me  another  axe 
wid  my  mone\-  when  dis  here  old  axe  wears  out."     [Laughter.] 

Xow,  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  say  that  I  am  not  here  as  the  critic  or  the 
censor  of  the  Re])nblican  Part\",  for  great  and  wonderful  has  been  its  career  in 
almost  evervthing  but  its  treatment  of  suffrage  in  the  vSouth.  It  was  a  problem, 
and  a  very  grave  one,  whether  the  Republican  Party  when  it  had  succeeded  in 
maintaining  the  supremacy  of  this  nation  and,  in  furtherance  of  that  object,  had 
freed  the  slaves,  should  invest  the  colored  man  in  the  South  with  the  franchise. 
But,  having  .settled  that  question,  it  became  the  duty  of  every  Republican  in  charge 
of  its  affairs  to  enact  such  legislation  as  that  these  poor  people  should  not  be 
exposed  to  danger  and  injury  by  having  placed  in  their  hands  this  suffrage.  They 
were  passive  in  the  matter,  and  when  tlie  Republican  Party  made  them  voters  it 
likewise  made  them  the  object  of  the  animosity  and  antagonism  of  the  Southern 
Democrat.  It  had  not  discharged  its  whole  dut\'  when  it  made  them  voters.  TJie 
act  of  enfranchisement  carried  with  it  the  duty  to  fortify  them  in  tlie  exercise  of 
that  franchise,  and  guarantee  that  it  .should  be  cast  and  counted.  Failure  to  do  this 
placed  it  in  the  power  of  the  Southern  liourbon  to  use  it  as  a  stick  with  which  to 
break  your  head.  Had  I  been  in  the  counsels  of  the  Republican  Partv  in  that  dav 
I  think  I  would  have  foreseen  this  possibilit}-;  that  I  would  ha\-e  thought  long  and 
anxiously  whether  that  strength  ought  to  be  given  to  the  South,  wherebv  its 
electoral  strength  was  augmented  two-fold,  and  it  was  placed  in  a  position  where  it 
was  possible  for  it  to  regain  .so  quickly  the  control  of  this  (iovernnient  in  peace, 
which  it  had  lost  in  war.  P.ut,  in  their  wisdom,  the  Republican  leaders  solved  that 
branch  of  the  question  and  did   invest  the  colored  man   in  the  South  with  a  vote. 

56 


Therein-,  and  thereby  alone,  the  electoral  representation  of  the  South  was  so 
increased  that,  under  sinister  manipulation  of  the  franchise,  it  rei,^ained  in  1S84  a 
mastery  in  Federal  administration.  The  Republicans  themselves  are  responsible  for 
a  condition  of  our  political  affairs  in  which  it  was  possible  for  the  vState  of  New  York, 
backed  by  the  insii,rnificant  pocket  handkerchief  of  Delaware,  and  the  States  of  New 
Jersey  and  Indiana,  to  unite  with  the  fraudulent  solid  electoral  vote  of  the  Southern 
States  and  dominate  this  government  for  four  years.  No  wonder  that  New  York  is 
called  an  empire!  Of  the  immense  vote  .she  cast,  the  little  majority  of  eleven 
hundred  breathed  into  the  nostrils  of  a  fraudulent  Solid  South  power  and  strength 
sufficient  to  absolutely  control,  for  four  years,  the  people  who  had  less  than  twenty 
years  before  conquered  it  in  arms. 

No  wonder  that,  at  the  sight  of  such  rampant  fraud,  the  men  who  really  love 
the  Republican  principles  on  which  our  system  of  suffrage  is  based,  trembled  at  the 
danger  of  a  repetition  of  that  crime  1  It  involved,  not  only  four  years'  administration 
of  the  government  and  the  little  offices  which  are  distributed,  but,  if  outrages  like 
that  of  18S4  are  to  go  on,  the  faith  of  our  people  in  the  honesty  and  permanency 
of  oin-  institutions  is  .sapped  and  undermined  each  day  that  it  continues.  The 
pretense  that  our  Croverument  is  based  upon  a  fair  and  free  expression  of  the  will  of 
a  majoritv  is  a  falsehood  and  a  mockery,  and  we  invite  the  seizure  of  the  Adminis- 
tration b\-  anv  individual  or  party  who  feels  strong  enough  in  force  or  fraud  to  make 
the  attempt.  As  a  Southern  man  I  would  look  with  great  pride  and  satisfaction 
upon  the  South  wielding  great  power  and  influence  bv  honest  means  in  every 
department  of  this  (Government.  The  South  .should,  with  her  great  and  growing 
industries,  hold  a  commanding  position  in  our  nation,  and  she  doubtless  will  do  so 
in  the  future;  but,  as  an  honest  man,  I  loathe  and  scorn  the  disreputable  methods 


by  -which  the  Solid  South  of  to-da\-  is  broni^ht  about,  as  de<Tradino;  to  the  men  who 
perpetrate  tlie  crimes  and  frauds  there,  as  uuwcirthy  of  tlie  manly  and  honest 
traditions  of  that  section,  as  a  j^rave  menace  to  our  form  of  (Tovernment,  and  a 
strong  temptation  to  those  who  are  wronged  by  the  outrage  to  resist  it  by  like 
violence.      [Applause.] 

But,  "time  makes  all  things  e\'en."  We  ha\-e  come  back  into  power.  The 
thunders  ha\-e  rolled  along  the  heavens,  and  darkness  has  settled  on  them  as  the 
\-eil  of  the  temple  of  Southern  Rourbouism  is  rent  in  twain  where  they  have 
mocked  and  murdered  suffrage.  The  danger  of  their  fraudulent  supremacy  is  past. 
The  Republican  Part\-  is  strengthened  and  refreshed,  rather  than  injured  by  its 
temporary  rexerses.  It  has  learned  much.  It  is  not  coming  back  with  flame  and 
sword,  but  with  some  things  written  in  letters  of  light  upon  its  \-ictorious  ensigns, 
so  that  the  wa}'faring  man,  though  a  fool,  can  understand  them.  Its  triumph 
proves  that,  although  the  people  condoned  (irover  Cleveland's  violation  of  the 
seventh  conimandment  in  the  year  1884,  tlie\-  will  not  submit  to  the  continued 
breaking  of  the  sixth  and  eighth  injunctions  of  the  Decalogue  by  his  followers  in 
tlie  South.  One  is,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  and  the  other,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill." 
IJefore  we  lose  the  control  of  this  government  again  it  is  our  purpose,  I  opine,  to 
sink  these  solemn  commandments  into  the  hearts  and  brains  of  every  man  in  Amer- 
ica in  such  a  wa\-  that  nobody  will  forget  them.      [Long  and  loud  applause.] 

There  are  jieople  all  through  the  vSouth  to-day  who  still  vote  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic Party,  who  are  longing  for  the  opportunity  to  become  ReiDublicans.  There 
are  thousands  and  thousands  of  them  in  my  State.  Of  the  205,000  white  voters  in 
Virginia,  70,000  of  them  voted  for  Harri.son  and  Morton,  and  nothing  but  the  theft 
of  the  black  vote   prevents   that  electoral  vote  from  being  counted  as  it  was  cast. 

5S 


Eacli  vear  witnesses  a  i^rowiny-  return  tn  the  sentiment  of  \'irginia's  first  and  great- 
est statesman  and  soldier.  It  was  Washington  who  taught  these  people  that 
their  Nation  was  as  dear  to  them  as  their  .State;  it  was  Virginia's  Marshall  who 
expounded  the  great  national  compact  in  such  a  way  as  made  all  men  love  it.  It 
was  nothing  but  the  sinister  influence  of  .slavery  that  ever  led  that  State  away  from 
true  Federal  doctrine.  With  the  death  of  slavery  has  come  back  a  healthy  and 
normal  Federal  feeling  in  the  land  which  made  this  I'nion  a  possibility.  But  it 
matters  not  how  many  Republican  votes  we  have  if  the  Republican  Party  fails  to 
perform  its  solemn  duty  and  secure  to  ns  an  honest  count  in  the  South,  and  an 
honest  vote.  This  is  second  to  no  question;  it  lies  right  at  the  foundation  of  our 
svstem  and  concerns  everv  man  who  sincereh-  hopes  for  the  perpetuit\-  ot  this  CtOv- 
ernment.  If  an  electoral  vote  mav  be  stolen  in  Mississippi,  it  may  be  stolen  in 
Massachusetts  ;  if  it  may  be  stolen  in  Virginia,  it  may  be  stolen  in  New  York. 
And,  in  mv  opinion,  it  was  the  righteous  .sense  of  indignation  of  our  people,  and 
the  conviction  that  (jrover  Cleveland's  support  was  based  upon  fraud,  tliat  made 
the  people  of  this  land  rise  up  and  put  back  the  Republican  Party  into  power,  in 
the  faith  and  hope  that  it  would  remed>-  this  wrong.  It  is  not  the  masses  of  the 
vSouth  who  do  these  crimes;  it  is  a  few  rascals  who  have  charge  of  the  political 
machinery  in  the  South;  it  is  a  trade  and  a  profession  with  them  which  they  have 
found  profitable.  The  great  body  of  our  people  are  right-thinking  and  honest,  and 
deplore  these  things  as  much  as  )-ou  do.  The  newspapers,  with  a  few  honorable 
exceptions,  and  the  cross-road  politicians  of  the  South,  encourage  and  justify  the.se 
gross  outrages  because  they  profit  by  them.  The  masses  of  honest,  decent  people, 
although  they  condone  them  by  their  aapiiescence,  are  ashamed  of  them,  and  feel 
that  they  do  our  .section  infinite  harm.      It  requires,  simply,  the  heroic  treatment  of 

59 


the  great  part\-  in  power  to  eradicate  this  blight  on  our  civilization  and  stamp  it  out. 
Whoever  accomplishes  this  great  result  will  receive  the  blessings  of  thousands  who 
now,  against  their  wills  and  inclinations,  are  acquiescing  in  these  crimes,  and  niereh- 
by  force  of  their  stirroundings  jxissively  submit  to  and  condone  them.      [Applause.] 

I  left  ^'irginia  after  I  had  remained  to  cast  my  vote  for  Harrison  and  ^Morton. 
I  turned  my  back  upon  the  old  State,  almost  with  tears, — the  home  of  m\'  people  for 
o\-Lr  two  hundred  and  fift\-  \ears.  I  went  there,  openly  and  avowedlv,  to  enforce 
the  ideas  which  are  dear  to  us  as  Republicans,  and  the  people  welcomed  me  with 
open  arms.  Ihit  the  lionrbou  press  of  that  communit\'  assailed  me  with  character- 
istic brutality,  and  I  feel  honored  by  their  abuse.  If  their  teachings  are  followed, 
and  their  blackguardism  is  to  set  the  key  of  jmblic  sentiment,  the  South  will  retro- 
grade and  degenerate  so  that,  in  two  hundred  years  from  to-day,  instead  of  cheating 
and  killing  darkies  at  the  jkiIIs,  they  will  be  eating  each  other  for  a  dailv  amuse- 
ment.    [Applause.] 

r>ul  I  have  no  fear  of  ultimate  results.  The  Southern  people  are  right  at 
heart  and  their  instincts  are  high,  rather  than  base.  Thev  have  not  made  a  record 
as  cheats  and  siieak-thie\-es  in  the  annals  of  the  past.  Their  worst  enemies  will 
accord  to  them  the  merit  of  open  and  manly  advocacy  of  tlie  things  for  which  thev 
have  contended  in  the  past,  and  scorn  for  methods  of  fraud  and  deceit.  The 
revulsion  against  the  things  that  have  been  done  there  in  elections  for  the  past 
twenty  years  is  as  sure  to  come,  and  come  with  crushing  vengeance  upon  tlie  heads 
of  those  who  have  done  them,  as  it  is  sure  that  the  South  retains  in  her  bosom  the 
germ  of  her  past  greatness  and  honesty.  Her  people  will  learn,  if  from  no  higher 
motives  than  those  of  selfishness,  that  they  cannot  afford  to  countenance  the  yearly 
commission  of  crime  and  fraud  in  her  jjolitical  affairs,  because  the  inevitable  result 


must  be  crime  and  fraud,  and  lack  of  confidence  in  each  other  among  themselves  in 
private  concerns,  and  the  absolute  shunning  of  a  section  where  such  things  are 
done  with  impunity  by  the  outside  world.     [Applause.] 

The  issue  which  the  Republican  Party  makes  with  the  South  is  not  the  issue 
of  negro  domination  there.  I  know  that  the  vSouthcni  liourbon  is  instant  and 
constant  in  contending  that  this  is  what  the  Republican  Party  demands.  I  know 
that  he  justifies  his  intimidation  of  and  fraud  upon  the  vote  of  the  colored  man 
under  the  plea  that,  if  he  permits  him  to  vote,  the  negroes  will  control.  But  that 
is  not  the  demand  of  the  Republican  Party,  nor  will  that  be  the  result,  in  my 
judgment,  if  the  colored  vote  is  cast  and  counted.  Certain  it  is  that  I  would  never 
have  become  a  Republican  if  I  believed  that  in  doing  .so  I  was  uniting  with  those 
who  sought  to  put  mv  own  race  under  the  domination  of  the  blacks  in  any  State  of 
this  Union.  Nor  do  I  believe  there  is  any  considerable  number  of  Republicans  in 
America,  of  the  white  race,  who,  if  the>'  saw  such  results  brought  about  after  a  fair 
test  of  the  experiment  of  negro  suffrage,  would  not  aid  in  redeeming  their  own  race 
from  any  such  tliralldoin. 

What  the  Republican  Party  demands,  and  what  it  intends  to  insist  upon,  is 
that  Southern  Bourbons  shall  be  honest !  [Applause.]  Until  they  are  honest  there 
can  be  no  intelligent  decision  as  to  the  effect  of  negro  suffrage.  It  was  an  experi- 
ment and  whether  it  was  a  good  or  a  bad  one  remains  to  be  seen,  when  it  has  had  a 
fair  trial.  It  is  not  a  ver\-  exacting  demand  upon  any  man,  or  set  of  men,  that  they 
shall  be  honest.  Especially  is  the  demand  not  exacting  when  it  is  made  upon  com- 
munities which  were  re-admitted  to  their  rights  in  the  Union  upon  the  solemn  pledge 
that  they  would  recognize  the  civil  and  political  equality  of  the  negroes.  This 
pledge  was  not  only  given  by  these  people  in  the  abstract,  but  ever>-  man  who  votes 


subscribes  this  solemn  oath  when  he  registers  himself;  and  so,  when  he  participates 
in  the  notorions  frauds  upon  the  suffrage,  he  commits  personal  perjury.  It  does  not 
follow  that  because  a  particular  locality  has  a  negro  majority  ignorant  and  incom- 
petent blacks  will  obtain  control.  I  can  point  out  to  you  counties  in  Virginia  in 
which  the  elections  are  honestly  conducted;  in  which,  notwithstanding  the\-  have  a 
large  preponderance  of  negro  population,  the  Democrats  refuse  to  blacken  their  souls 
with  the  crimes  committed  elsewhere;  in  which  Democrats  and  Republicans,  whites 
and  blacks,  will  tell  you  there  is  no  cheating,  and  that  a  healthy  public  opinion  will 
not  submit  to  it;  yet  in  which,  notwithstanding  that  in  Presidential,  Congressional, 
and  State  elections  the  colored  vote  is  cast  as  a  unit  for  Republican  candidates, 
when  count}'  elections  occur  and  offices  of  local  responsibility  are  to  be  filled,  it  has 
been  found  impossible  to  make  the  negroes  vote  for  candidates  merely  because  thev 
called  themselves  Republicans;  but  they  choose  the  best  men  in  the  coinmunitv 
even  if  they  are  Democrats.  They  do  so  because  the\-  know  tlie\  will  not  be 
cheated,  and  that  if  the\-  put  inferior  men  in  office  the  responsibility,  as  well  as  the 
loss,  will  be  upon  them.  This  is  a  practical  illustration  of  what  an  honest  dealing 
with  the  question  of  negro  suffrage  will  bring  about,  and  a  refutation  of  the  pre- 
tense that,  if  their  votes  are  honestly  counted,  the  result  will  be  negro  domination. 
Lest  I  be  thought  to  be  speaking  without  facts  to  sustain  me,  I  cite  the  countx-  of 
Amelia,  who.se  negro  population  exceeds  its  white  bv  about  five  hundred;  a  county 
in  which  there  has  never  been  any  cheating;  a  count\-  which  gave  Republican 
majorities— for  Cameron,  for  governor,  in  1881,  for  Blaine  in  1884,  for  mvself  in  1885, 
for  every  Re]iublican  Congressman  who  has  ever  run,  and  for  Harrison  in  1888 — rang- 
ing from  two  hundred  to  six  hundred ;  and  )et  a  county  whose  every  officer,  from  Com- 
monwealth's .\ttorney  to  Commissioner  of  the  Revenue,  except  Sheriff,  is  a  Demo- 

62 


crat:  because  the  ne.s^ro  voters  supported  them  in  fair  elections  as  better  qualified 
than  their  Republican  opponents,  some  of  whom  were  excellent  gentlemen,  and  some 
of  whom  were  black.  This  is  but  one  of  many  counties  I  mii^ht  name.  It  is  at  once 
a  refutation  of  the  Bourbon  jjretense  that  cheating  is  a  necessity,  and  proof  of  the 
time-houored  saw  that  "honesty  is  the  best  policy." 

But,  suppose  the  doing  of  what  the.se  men  are  sworn  to  do  shall  bring  upon 
them  the  woes  they  pretend  to  fear,  is  that  an  excuse  for  theft,  perjury,  and,  if  need 
be,  murder?  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul?"  Is  it  not  a  thousand  times  better  to  give  the  experiment  of  negro  suf- 
frage a  fair  trial  than  to  conxert  whole  communities  into  the  practice  of  murder, 
theft,  and  ])erjurv?  How  shall  a  just  and  sympathetic  nation  ever  be  able  to  tell 
whether  this  thing  of  negro  suffrage  is  right  or  wrong,  if  the  people  who  clamor 
against  it  so  hmdly  not  only  give  them  no  chance  tu  judge  of  it  when  honestly  tried, 
but  actually  cheat  the  nation  and  exasperate  the  persons  from  whom  they  might 
expect  redress  if  it  be  found  unbearable  when  fairh-  tried.  Are  they  not  degrading 
themselves  ?  destroying  the  whole  moral  tone  of  their  own  communities  ?  wronging 
other  constituencies  ?  sapping  public  faith  in  the  ballot  system  ?  rendering  it  utterly 
impo.ssible  to  get  honest  redress  from  those  who  alone  can  give  it  if  this  suffrage, 
after  fair  trial,  be  found  a  failure?  and  laying  the  foundation  of  iinnimerable  woes 
to  the  Republic  by  persisting  in  the  criminal,  immoral,  and  suicidal  violence  which 
has  stamped  the  career  of  vSouthern  Democracy  since  1869? 

It  was  on  this  issue  that  I  broke  away  from  Southern  Bourbonism.  I  lo\-e 
m\  race.  In  anv  fairl\-  drawn  contest  between  the  white  and  black  race  I  would, 
most  assuredh-,  be  found  with  the  whites.  If  Republicanism  meant  negro  suprem- 
acy in  the  South,  it  could  not  carry  a  single  Northern  State  on  any  such  unnatural 

61 


■^nc. 


tile  white  Xortli,  after  seeing  a  fair  and  an  honest  trial  of  this  qnestion  of 
negro  suffrage,  saw  all  these  fine  and  prodnctive  States  pass  out  of  the  control  of 
their  own  blood  and  bone,  and  beheld  realized  the  horrible  dreams  of  Southern 
Bourbonisni,  it  would  leap  to  the  rescue  of  its  vSouthern  brethren;  its  heart  not  only 
warmed  with  the  generous  impulses  of  our  race  towards  its  stiffering  fellows,  but 
swelling  with  admiration  at  the  nobility  of  soul  which  had  made  us  keep  the  faith 
and  bear  the  hard  terms  of  the  trial  placed  ujioii  us  in  a  period  of  strife. 

In  that  wa\-,  and  in  that  way  alone,  can  the  wrongs  of  negro  suffrage,  if  they 
be  as  great  as  is  claimed,  be  redressed.  Never  !  never  !  can  this  question  be  .settled 
so  long  as  it  renuuns  untried,  owing  to  the  dishonesty  of  those  who  demand  judg- 
ment without  trial.  .\  Solid  South — solid  on  such  false  and  criminal  lines  as  have 
made  it  .solid  in  the  past — will  be  met,  in  every  demand  it  makes,  by  a  Solid  North; 
and  e\-erv  specious  plea  it  makes  for  a  redress  of  its  grie\'aiices  will  be  answered  by 
the  firm,  cold,  united  breath  of  this  people,  "  Let  the  South  first  be  honest."  After 
that,  peace  and  fraternity  will  come  as  sureh'  as  the  night  doth  follow  day.  Until 
then  there  is  not,  there  cannot,  and  there  never  will  be,  peace  between  the  sections. 
[.Vpplause.] 

It  was  oil  this  issue  that  I  broke  away  from  the  Democracy  of  the  South.  I 
love  the  South — I  love  her  peo])le.  I  appreciate  their  good  qualities  and  know  her 
great  possibilities,  but  I  also  know  that  the  course  of  her  politics  is  suicidal,  and 
that  there  is  no  hope  for  her  while  she  pursues  the  mad  career  mapped  out  for  her 
by  her  politicians  for  many  years  gone  by.     [Applause.] 

The  election  of  General  Harri.son  opens  up  a  possibility  of  change.  He  is  no 
alien  to  that  section.  He  is  bone  of  their  bone  and  flesh  of  their  flesh.  He  is  wise, 
conservati\e,  and  just;  at  the  .same  time  he  is  a  man  of  great  firmness.     With  these 

64 


Itialitics  il  iiia\-  be  ])Ossible  that  lie  shall   iininess  the   Sniith  with   the  .L;Teat  truth 


lat    Die    issue    helweell    that   seeli.i 


parlv   IS   the   siuip 


liuiR>l\,  helni-c  wliieli  all  others  uiiist  relive  until  the  Sniilh  eouseuLs  tn  he  honest. 
That  tliat  ix.iiit  hnii-  .settled,  all  (.tilers  are  eas\-  ul'  adjustment.  Wdieii  it  is  .settled 
the  whole  nation,  and  no  part  of  it  more  than  the  South,  will  hless  him  for  destroyiiip- 
Ihereb)-  the  Solid  South.  It  is  nonsense  to  call  the  South  dislo\al  in  the  .seii.se  of 
expressing  an  idea  that  ain-  considerable  number  of  j)eo])le  there  would  destroy  or 
retire  from  the  I'nioii  if  they  could  do  so.  There  is  no  such  feeliii-.  The  iies^ro 
question  is  the  root  of  all  the  trouble.  A  tliin_t;  occurred  just  as  I  was  leaxiii^  \'ir- 
ginia  which  touched  me  iue.\pres-,il)ly ;  and  was  about  as  good  an  illustration  of  the 
utter  subsidence  of  anything  like  the  old  war  feeling  as  it  was  jiossible  to  ha\-e. 

The  last  act  of  my  residence  in  \'irginia  was  to  present  a  stand  of  colors  to  the 
cadets  of  the  \'irgiiiia  Militar\  Institute.  The  bo\s  had  l)eeii  l.)rouglit  down  to  the 
State  Ivxpositioii — the  same  cor|is  which,  in  the  sjuiiig  of  1S64,  had  been  ordered 
out  in  the  Confederate  ranks,  (the  "seed  com  of  the  Coufederac\  "  as  tlie\'  were 
called),  and  .sent  into  the  vallev  to  fight  with  Sicgel;  the  same  corps  which  had 
gloried  in  those  days  in  the  success  of  the  Confederate  cause;  that  had  marched  to 
Richmond  from  the  \-alle\-;  that  had  wheeled  proudly  aroiiml  the  moiiunieiit  in  the 
Capitol  vScpiare  in  1S64,  to  recei\'e  from  the  (io\-ernorof  \'irginia  a  stand  of  colors 
for  gallantry  111  actii.iu  on  the  Conlederate  side.  And  there  in  the  midst  of  iiu-  old 
Democratic  comrades,  in  iSSS,  I  was  honored  1)\-  being  selected  to  present  the 
colors — which  was  not  onl\-  the  ensign  of  \'irgiiiia,  but  the  .Stars  and  .Stripes. 
[Cheers.  J  It  was  a  scene  of  great  enthusiasm.  It  was  one  which  stirred  the  blood 
of  every  man    present;    it  was   one  which    brought    forth    tears    for    its   sacred   memo- 


the  fathers  who  were  present,  as  tliey  saw  their  brave,  bright  bo\s  in  ranks.  Twen- 
ty-five years  ago  I  had  been  one  of  them,  and  to-da\-  there  stood  ni\'  own  oklest 
boy,  in  gray,  in  tlie  place  whicli  I  occupied  so  long  ago.  In  presenting  the  colors, 
without  belittling  the  glorious  old  ensign  of  Virginia,  I  said,  in  presenting  the 
National  ensign,  "  Dear  bo\'s;  events  of  recent  \ears  occurring  before  you  were 
born,  set  the  dye  of  those  stripes  in  the  blood  of  your  fathers  to  wa\-e  forever 
o'er  a  perpetual  Union;  and  there  lies  your  first  duty.  In  that  cloudless  field  of 
blue,  by  events  wdiich  were  determined  ere  yet  you  were  begot,  those  stars  were 
placed  forever,  with  one  for  e\-ery  .State  of  the  Union,  and  demanding  your  first 
allegiance  to  the  ensign  of  your  Xation."  No  sentiment  I  uttered  received  more 
genuine  applause  than  that,  and  they  were  Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans. 
In  our  recent  struggle,  my  brethren,  it  was  not  only  the  flag  of  our  Nation,  but  of 
the  Republican  Part)-;  that  banner,  that  is  good  enough  for  everv  one,  was  carried 
by  this  party  everywhere,  and  our  principles  were  not  based  upon  an^■  such  idea 
that  we  had  to  dodge  around  them  b\-  the  subterfuge  of  a  bandanna  for  certain 
uncertain  sections.      [Applause.] 

Let  us  make  it  the  flag  of  the  Nation;  let  us  make  it  the  party  of  the  Nation. 
We  want  to  hear  in  these  four  years,  and  many  years  that  are  to  come,  from  the  lips 
of  a  Harrison  no  word  of  sectionalism.  He  is  the  Harrison  of  .South  as  well  as  of 
North.  He  is  the  expounder  of  principles  which  are  as  dear  to  them  as  to  us. 
Kindness  and  firmness,  and  adherence  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  part\-, — 
not  sectionalism, — but  a  firm,  urgent,  decisive  demand  for  honestv  which  is  not 
sectional,  will  make  the  Republican  Party  strong  in  everv  .section  of  this  coun- 
try, and  put  at  rest  forever  this  hated  word,  the  Solid  South.  [Uoud  and  long 
api)lau.se.  ] 

66 


Mr.  DkpKW:— fk-ntlemcn,  if  the  Solid  South  breaks  up  and  crystallizes  into 
units  "like-Wise,"  [laui^diter]  the  war  was  not  fought  in  vain.  We  expected  here 
to-night  our  friend,  Mr.  Wliitelaw  Reid,  who  has  conducted  so  admirably,  during 
this  caiu-ass,  the  great  Republican  organ  which  has  done  such  signal  service  for  the 
part)-;  but  he  writes  me  that  he  could  not  break  another  engagement  which  he  was 
bound  in  honor  to  till.  But  we  ha\-e  with  us  a  gentleman  who  has  established  a 
paper  for  the  masses.  He  has  made  it  the  infant  giant  of  jouruali.sm.  It  talks  in  its 
own  tongue,  and  then  it  repeats  what  the  "parrot"  has  said.  We  have  with  us 
both  the  editor  and  parrot,  and  his  name  is  Porter. 

[Cries  of,  "  He's  the  young  man  that  did  it."] 

MR.    PORTER. 

j\Ir.  Presidkxt  .WD  Gf:xtlkmex: — I  regret  very  much  to  find  that  you  have 
put  me  down  to-night  for  a  dead  is.sue.  The  "Bowery  parrot"  and  its  cry,  the 
"Tariff  is  a  tax,"  .so  far  as  the  Democratic  Party  is  concerned,  is  dead.  My  friend, 
Mr.  Cooper,  however,  has  informed  me  since  I  have  been  in  this  hall,  that  up  in 
lUiffalo  thev  have  a  parrot  which,  I  should  think,  at  this  time,  would  be  more  of  a 
live  i.ssue  than  the  "Bowery  parrot."  :\[r.  Cooper's  parrot  has  learned  to  say,  "  Pm 
a  liar;  the  tariff  ain't  a  tax."  [Laughter.]  Battered  by  argument,  humiliated  by 
exposure,    made   ridiculous  b>-  aggressive  statements,    robbed   of   its   pretensions   to 

67 


economic  wisdom  1)\-  facts  and  fi-nrcs,  and  ])lnckc(l  of  ils  mnsl  loved  and  valued 
plunia-e,  "  llie  spoils,"  bv  the  Repnhliean  ea-le,  llie  "  I'.owcrN  parn .1  ' '  rises  from 
the  dolefnl  .lehris  of  tlie  Democratic  I'artN  and  slnieks,  with  the  little  voice  it  has 
left,    "The  tariff  is  a  tax,"      |  Lall-htcr  .iild  cheers.] 

Ill  .some  respects,  .<;eiitlemeii,  perhaps  the  tariff  is  a  tax.  It  has  certaiiiK', 
dnriiii;  the  period  that  we  have  enjo\ed  the  present  tariff,  "taxed"  the  ])rodiictive 
jiowers  of  this  cnnntrx  until  we  find  the  ]io]>nlation  has  increased  20,000,000.  Under 
the  tariff  we  have  doubled  the  ])opulatiou  of  our  cities.  It  lias  "taxed"  our  coal 
mines  until,  instead  of  ])rodncin,L;  (_)nl\-  i4,oo;),o()i »  tons  of  coal,  we  are  now  jiro- 
ducin.i;'  100,000,000  tons.  It  has  "  taxed  "  the  in.^ennit\- and  the  enteriirise  of  (lur 
ca]iitalists  until,  in  ])lace  of  35,000  miles  of  railroad,  we  now  have  150,000  miles;  it 
has  "taxed"  the  carrvin^L;  ]iower  of  these  railroads  until,  instead  of  haulino- 
7o,(x)o,ooo  ttnis  of  freiiiht,  we  are  now  carryini^-  550,000,000  tons;  it  has  "taxed" 
the  ])owers  of  our  ore  mines  and  ore  banks  until,  instead  of  produciuL,^  as  we  were  in 
iS^K)  but  ()oo,oo()  tons  of  iron  ore,  we  are  now  ]iroducin,<^  10,000,000  tons,  and  a 
oodd  deal  of  it  in  tlie  South,  where  mv  friend.  Air.  Wise,  comes  from— the  new 
industrial   South   we   hear  so  much  about.      [Cheers.] 

Turniui;-  to  oiir  niannfactnrin.o-  interests,  wdi.it  has  the  tariff  done  tlierc? 
It  has  "taxed  "  tlie  metal  industries  until,  instead  of  em]>lo\-in,i;-  6(1,000  ])eoplc,  the\- 
now  s;ivc  cm])lo\nient  to  4<.)o,ooo;  it  has  "taxed"  oiir  wool  and  woolen  industries 
until  we  now  em])lo)-  200,000  where  we  did  i.in]ilo\'  but  6; 1,000;  it  has  "taxed"  Jolin 
P.ull,  out  of  60,000,000  of  custouKTs,  for  his  cottons  and  carpets,  and  we  now  make 
tliost-  iirodncts  as  well  and  as  cheai)l\'  at  lioiiie. 

'rnruin.i;  from  the  manufictnrin.i;  inlerests,  (brcinse  I  know  ni\-  time  ou,<;ht  to 
be  short),  what   has  this  "xicious,  illo.i^ical,   and    iniiinituns   tariff  lax ''■  done   to  the 


fanninj^  interests  of  the  country?  It  has  "taxed"  the  poor  tarnier  so  tliat,  instead 
of  ha\-ing  2,000,000  farms  when  it  was  first  enacted,  he  has  now  4,000,000;  it  has 
"taxed"  the  vahie  of  these  farms  to  such  an  extent  that,  instead  of  being  worth 
6,000,000,000  of  dollars  as  they  were  in  1S70,  the\-  were  worth  10,000,000,000  of 
dollars  in  1880,  and  much  more  to-day;  and,  :\Ir.  President,  it  has  "taxed"  the  soil 
of  this  conntrv  to  such  an  extent  that,  instead  of  producing  1,250,000,000  bushels  of 
orain,  we  are  now  prodticing  3,000,000,000  of  Inishels;  and,  lastly,  fellow-Spell- 
binders,—and  }-ou  have  all  heard  of  this,  and  have  had,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  explain 
it  upon  the  stump,— it  has  "taxed"  the  poor  sheep  of  the  country  until,  instead  of 
producing  60,000,000  pounds  of  wool,  they  are  now  compelled  to  produce  300,000,- 
000  pounds.      [Applause  and  cheers.] 

But  at  this  hour,  and  upon  this  joyful  occasion,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
go  into  an\-  elaborate  explanation  of  wh>-  the  tariff  is  not  a  tax  upon  the  consumers. 
The  "  Bowery  parrot"  was  created  to  show  the  absurdity  of  the  cry,  the  "Tariff  is 
a  tax,"  and  facts  and  figures  thoroughly  establish  the  protectionist's  position,  that 
home  competition  brings  down  the  price  of  all  commodities  manufactured  in  this 
country.  But  strong  as  these  cold  facts  are  your  Spellbinders  have,  undoubtedly, 
found  that  among  the  wage  earners  of  the  land  the  tariff  is  a  good  deal  a  question 
of  wages.  They  have  looked  into  the  .subject  carefully,  and  they  judge  it  almost 
entirely  from  that  standpoint.  The  American  workman  fully  realizes  that  free  trade 
means  not  onh'  reduction  of  wages,  but  the  emplo>inent  of  the  women  of  his  family 
in  order  to  support  the  famih-.  This  idea  is  repulsive  to  him.  The  American  work- 
man knows  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  his  wife  and  mother,  his  sister  and 
his  sweetheart,  have  to  labor  in  order  to  make  sufficient  money  to  maintain  the 
familv;  and  the  American  workman  does  not  want  to  see  his  women  folks  work,  as  I 

69 


have  seen  them,  barefooted,  in  tlie  brick-yards  of  "Merrie"  England;  the  working- 
man  of  this  countr\'  does  not  want  to  see  the  women  folks  of  his  family  sunburnt 
and  bent,  as  I  have  seen  them,  with  a  rojje  o\er  their  shoulders,  along  the  dykes  and 
canals  of  "  picturesque  "  Holland;  the  workingnian  of  this  country  does  not  want  to 
see  his  wife  and  mother  hitched  up  like  a  ijeast  of  burden,  as  I  luue  seen  women  in 
Austria-Hungary;  the  workingman  of  this  country  does  not  want  to  graduate  his 
daughter  as  a  filler  of  blast  furnaces  and  a  digger  in  coal  mines,  as  I  have  seen  them 
in  "busy"  Helgium;  the  workingman  of  this  coinitry  does  not  want  to  see  his  wife 
and  mother  working  around  the  coke  ovens,  as  I  have  seen  them  in  "sunny" 
France;  and  he  does  not  want  to  see  them  bearing  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day, 
as  I  have  seen  them  in  the  harvest  fields  of  the  Fatherland;  and,  lastlv,  thank  Cxod, 
he  does  not  want  to  see  them  mixing  mortar  and  carrying  the  hod  to  the  scaflfold 
where  the  ])uil(ler  is  building,  as  I  have  seen  them  in  that  beautiful  citv  of  Stock- 
holm, ill  vSwedeii.  I  say,  again,  tlie  American  workman  does  not  want  to  see  woman 
thus  abased  and  degraded,  even  though,  b\-  so  doing,  we  are  able  to  manufacture 
and  build  a  little  cheaper.     [I^oud  cheers.] 

And  now,  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  having  said  a  few  words  upon  what 
I  cannot  help  regarding  the  dead  issue  allotted  me  to-night,  may  I  be  allowed  to  sa>- 
a  few  words  uiwii  what  1  regard  as  three  living  issues?  [Cries  of,  "Go  on!  go 
on  I"]  F'irst,  then,  I  want  to  entreat  you  in  regard  to  my  first  proposition,  because 
I  know  you  are  all  orators,  and  men  v,-ho  will  take  an  active  part  in  shaping  the 
future  policy  of  the  Republican  l'art>-.  [Cries  of,  "We  are  !  we  are.'"]  We,  as 
Republicans,  will  soon  be  brougiit  face  to  face  with  this  tariff  question,  and  then  we 
have  got  to  act;  and  I  trust  that  the  Republican  Part\-,  in  acting  upon  the  Senate 
Bill,  or  upon  any  bill  that  may  come  up  for  action,  will  be  guided  bv  the  broadest 


princi])les  of  Protection.  I  hope  tliat  wherever  we  can  see  an  opportunity  to 
strengthen  an  industry  in  this  country,  or,  if  necessary,  to  create  one,  tliat  that  will 
be  done  without  hesitation.  Reiueniber,  we  have  pledged  ourselves  to  REVISE,  not 
merely  REDUCE,  the  tariff. 

Our  President  has  said  to-night  that  this  will  end  the  Solid  South.  Let  us 
hope  .so.  And  that  l)rings  me  to  the  second  living  issue  on  which  I  want  to  say  a 
word.  This  victory  enables  the  Republican  Party  to  take  the  next  cen.sus.  A 
census  is  a  \er\-  important  matter.  Upon  that  census  our  representation  in  Congress 
hinges  and  the  next  electoral  college  is  based.  As  a  matter  of  f^ict,  through 
mistakes  in  the  census  in  1S70,  the  South,  in  the  last  apportionment  in  1S82, 
gained  no  less  than  fotirteen  Congressmen.  Whereas  the  great  manufacturing 
States  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  the  New  England  States,  with 
a  population  aggregating  about  the  same,  lost  one  Congressman.  Now,  relatively 
speaking,  that  abnormal  increase  will  correct  itself  this  time.  The  great  Repub- 
lican States  will  gain  most  of  the  new  Congressmen,  because  the  errors  in  the  census 
of  1.S70  made  the  increase  in  population  only  nine  per  cent,  between  1860  and  1870, 
and  thirty-fi\-e  per  cent,  between  1870  and  18S0.  The  increase  in  population  in  the 
Western  States  did  not  exceed  this  during  the  last  census  decade.  The  coming 
census  should  show  a  much  greater  per  cent,  of  gain  in  population  in  the  Western 
Republican  States  than  in  the  States  belonging  to  the  Solid  South.  This  increased 
representation  b\-  increase  in  population,  together  with  the  increase  resulting  from 
the  admission  of  at  least  three  territories,  ought,  unless  all  signs  fail,  to  break  up 
the  Solid  South.     [Applause.] 

The  last  thing  I  want  to  say  is  this,  and  I  say  it  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
because  it  is  something  we  must  at  once  face:  We  are  told  by  our  adversaries  that 


the  campaign  just  closed  has  been  an  "educational  campaign."  We  must  continue 
this  "educational  campaign."  The  New  York  S/t;/  does  not  like  an  "educational 
campaign,"  because,  as  the  shrewd  editor  of  that  paper  has  long  since  di.scerned, 
when  3-ou  educate  a  Democrat,  you  make  a  Republican  of  him.  There  is  a  gentle- 
man sitting  here  on  this  platform,  who  deserves  more  credit  than  any  other  one  man 
in  tlws  country  for  conducting  that  "educational  campaign."  I  refer  to  Mr.  Edward 
H.  Amniidown,  the  president  of  the  American  Protective  Tariff  League.  It  affords 
pleasure  for  me  to  say,  right  here,  before  this  di.stinguished  audience  that,  when  we 
were  beaten  in  1SS4,  :\Ir.  Amniidown  and  a  number  of  other  public-spirited  citizens 
went  to  work  and  organized  the  Tariff  League.  P>y  the  aid  of  that  League  we  have 
opened  up  avenues  b\-  which  we  can  reach  the  masses  of  the  people  all  over  this 
country;  we  have  opened  up  avenues  of  information  in  every  State  and  Territory; 
and  I  beseech  >-ou  to  see  to  it  that  these  avenues  are  kept  open  during  the  next  four 
years,  and  that  the  people  are  properly  educated  on  this  great  and  vital  question  of 
the  tariflf. 

I  thank   \-ou  very  much  for  such   courteous  consideration  at  so  late  an  hour, 
and  bid  you  good-night.      [Loud  cheering.] 


AIr.  Depew: — Gentlemen,  the  tax  has  done  very  well  in  producing  young 
Reijublican  journalists.  There  is  among  the  Spellbinders  one  man,  who,  on  all 
occasions  for  the  last  fifty  years,  has  been  held  in  reser\'e  to  keep  the  audience.  If 
there  is  a  statesman  whose  speech   is  long,  a  cabinet  minister  \shose  utterances  are 


prosy,  an  authoritative  voice  whicli  nol)ocly  wishes  to  listen  to,  the\-  keep  this  man 
in  order  that  the  audience  will  stay  with  tlie  statesman.  It  has  been  his  fate  for 
half  a  century  to  fill  this  ImII,  and  he  has  filled  it  well;  and  when  he  has  come  on 
afterwards,  the  audience  has  remained  spellbound.  He  suffers  to-ni!.;hl  from  the 
fact  that  the  speeches  which  have  preceded  him  have  been  good  ones,  a  thing  which 
never  occurred  to  him  before.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  (General  George 
A.    Sheridan. 

GENERAL   GEORGE   A.    SHERIDAN. 

Mr.  Spk.akkr  .\xi)  Fki.i.dw-Sixxhrs — Diners,  I  mean— [laughter]:— A  few 
days  ago  I  received  an  invitation  to  be  ])resent  on  this  occasion.  I  did  not  doubt 
the  propriety  of  ni\-  being  here,  but  I  had  grave  apprehensions  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  coming.  The  only  thing  I  have  of  any  particular  value  in  this  world  to  me, 
is  mv  life,  and  I  have  never  willingly,  nor  consciously,  put  it  in  peril.  My  army 
record  will  certainly  show  that.  [Laughter.]  When  I  received  the  invitation  I 
called  upon  the  gentleman  who  sent  it,  to  learn  something  of  this  matter.  He  told 
me  that  three  hundred  Republican  Stump  Orators  were  to  assemble  at  Delmonico's. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  made  any  arrangement  with  the  police.  He  said,  "No." 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  called  upon  the  United  States  military  forces.  He  said, 
"No;  whv  should  I?"  "Well,"  I  replied,  "for  protection."  I  said,  further, 
"My  friend,  >ou  are  being  mislead;  this  is  a  put  up  job;  somebody  is  influencing 
you  in  the  wrong  direction;  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  are  going  to  get  three 

73 


hundred  stump  orators  too;ethcr  in  one  place,  without  military  or  civil  protection?" 
He  said,  "Yes."  "Well,"  I  said,  "the  citizens  of  this  great  metropolis  will  rise 
in  their  might.  They  will  murder  the  last  one  of  us."  He  said  he  thought  not; 
but  I  concluded  he  did  not  realize  what  he  was  doing,  so  I  visited  the  chief  of 
police,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  an>thing  of  an  uprising  on  Wednesday  night; 
he  said  he  had  not,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  any  reason  to  expect  one.  I  said, 
"Yes;  at  Delmonico's  three  hundred  Republican  stump  speakers  are  to  gather  on 
Wednesdav  night."  The  chief  looked  thoughtful  for  a  moment,  and  then  said, 
"That  certainh'  is  a  matter  that  needs  consideration,  I  will  immediately  give  it  my 
attention."  He  then  said  to  me,  "  Why  do  yoti  take  an\-  interest  in  this  matter; 
are  you  an  orator?"  I  bowed  my  head  and  said,  modestly,  "Yes,  sir."  [Laughter.] 
"Well,"  said  he,  "You  don't  look  like  one."  I  asked  him  what  I  did  look  like, 
and  he  said,  "Why  you  look  more  like  a  butcher."  [Loud  laughter.]  I  immedi- 
ately concluded  that  man  had  heard  me  speak  somewhere  when  I  was  murdering  the 
King's  English.  [Laughter.]  My  visit,  however,  satisfied  me  that  there  was  no 
personal  danger  to  me  in  making  one  of  the  proposed  gathering,  so  I  determined  to 
come,  and  I  am  here. 

After  I  had  made  uji  my  mind  to  come,  I  picked  up  a  morning  paper  and 
saw  a  toast  to  which  I  was  to  respond  :  "  The  Soil  under  our  Feet."  I  said  to  the 
gentleman  who  sent  the  in\'itation,  "  Do  \ou  think  such  a  toast  is  the  proper  thing 
for  such  an  occasion?"  He  said,  "Why  not?"  I  replied,  "This  is  to  be  a 
banquet;  I  don't  want  to  make  a  funeral  oration,  and,  if  I  resp(.)nd  to  that  toast,  I 
must.  '  The  Soil  under  our  Feet ' ;  that  certainly  means  the  I  )emocratic  Party. 
That  part\-  is  certainly  dead.  I  don't  want  to  preach  about  it;  I  want  to  eat  on  tliis 
occasion."     [Lattghter.]     He  replied,  that  I  had  entireK-  misconstrued  the  tendency 

74 


and  scope  of  the  toast;  that  nobod\-  but  a  born  idiot  or  an  inspired  ass  would  have 
pnt  any  sncli  construction  iqxMi  the  toast  as  I  liad.  I  am  ver\-  glad  I  have  come, 
and  I  will  make  yuu,  one  and  all,  happy,  b\-  promising  that  my  speech  shall  be  very 
short. 

"The  vSoil  under  our  Feet  !  "  That  is  a  good  deal  just  now.  The  fact  that  a 
man  owns  a  piece  of  soil  on  which  he  treads  is  a  very  satisfactory  assurance  to  him; 
but,  when  three  hundred  men  gather  together,  as  we  have  to-night,  with  the  convic- 
tion deep  in  our  hearts  that  we  not  only  own  the  soil  under  our  feet,  but  are  the 
owners  in  fee  simple  of  the  entire  continent,  and  all  that  it  holds,  we  may  be 
pardoned  for  feeling  ver\-  comfortable.  "The  Soil  under  our  Feet"  is  the  grand- 
est soil  that  any  party  or  nation  ever  trod  upon,  and  it  is  the  mission  of  the 
Republican  Party  to  .see  that  out  of  that  .soil  the  best  development  po.ssible  is 
made  for  the  65,000,000  people  who  have  intrusted  their  destin\-  to  its  keeping. 
[Applause.] 

The  Republican  Party,  as  Air.  Wi.se  remarked,  "has  come  back,"  and  he 
miglit  have  added,  "  it  has  come  back  to  stay."  [Applau.se.]  I  like  to  .see  Repub- 
licans of  his  cla.ss  come  U]i  from  the  .South — if  the  Democratic  view  is  right  about 
the  effect  of  the  Indlet  that  hit  him  on  the  head,  if  it  did  make  him  crazy,  I  have 
simply  this  to  say:  I  would  rather  ha\'e  one  such  crazy  Republican  as  he  is  come 
from  the  vSouth  than  a  million  sane  Democrats.      [Applau.se.] 

(_)f  course,  this  is  a  great,  a  .splendid  political  victor\-;  and  when  the  question 
is  asked,  "Who  accomplished  it?  "  there  is  not  one  of  us  here  who  will  not  .say,  "  I 
did  it."  When  I  remember  the  ma.ss  of  accurate  and  carefully  gathered  "  IVIisinfor- 
mation  "  that  we  three  hundred  men  spread  among  the  people  of  this  countr\- on 
the   tariff  question,  it  is  a.stoni.shing  to  me  that  they  know  anything  about  it  at  all. 

75 


It  was  a  ina.L^mificciit  opportunity;  never  shall  we  have  sucli  anotlier.  Tiie  people 
did  not  know  anything'  aliont  the  tariff;  we  knew  less,  but  we  had  the  floor. 
[Cheers  and  lan.i;hter.]  So  we  let  them  have  our  views,  ri,t,'-ht  and  left — "hi.i^h 
tariff,"  and  "low  tariff,"  "free  trade  and  Protection,"  "tariff  for  revenue,"  and 
"revenue  for  tariff" — anxthini;-  that  hit.  I  think  there  is  only  one  point  that  we 
made  absolutely  and  perfecth-  clear  to  everybody  who  listened  to  us,  and  that  was: 
The  nature  and  character  of  "Raw  Material."  We  gave  them  an  object  lesson 
e\-ery  time  we  got  up  to  speak.  In  us  the\-  beheld  the  "rawest"  kind  of  material. 
I  think,  perhaps  incidentally,  too,  we  were  the  means  of  their  securing  some 
\-alualjIe  information  upon  the  tariff,  because  our  statements  taken  together  were  .so 
bewildering  that  a  nuin  of  any  common  sense  at  all  was  forced  into  reading  some- 
thing on  the  subject,  and  thereby  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  it,  at  least  to  a  certain 
e.xtent.      [Laughter.] 

Xow,  nu'  friends,  I  heard  a  great  many  speeches  during  this  campaign  uj^on 
the  tariff,  but  of  all  the  speeches  I  heard,  the  one  that  I  think  hit  the  nail  square  on 
the  head  and  most  completely  and  thoroughly  demolished  the  Democratic  i:)Osition 
on  the  tariff  was  the  one  I  had  the  honor  of  delivering  something  like  one  hundred 
times.  [Loud  laughter  and  applau.se.]  Of  course,  I  don't  expect  an)- one  of  these 
three  hundred  orators  to  agree  with  me  on  this  point.  I  know  that  each  one  of  them 
thinks  that  the  really  effective  piece  of  work  done  in  the  campaign, — the  speech  that 
settled  the  matter  conclusively, — ^was  the  little  speech  he  fired  off.  I  don't  find  any 
fault  with  an\l)od\-  for  so  feeling;  all  the  .same,  however,  I  am  going  to  cling  to  the 
idea  that  I  did  it,  because  that  is  the  onl\-  compensation  that  I  have  thus  far  had  in 
this  campaign  for  my  work;  and,  as  General  Harri.son  knows  me  prettv  well,  I  expect 
it  is  all  the  compensation  I  shall  receive.     [Cheers  and  laughter.]     I  do  not  find  any 

76 


fault  with  anybody  who  thinks  lie  did  it,  because  I  know  Harrison  is  a  kind-hearted 
uiau  and  if  he  becomes  convinced  that  any  one  man  in  this  country  thinks  he  is  the 
l)arty  who  did  it  all,  he  never  will  disturb  his  contemplation  of  that  fact  by  forcing 
upon  him  the  cares  of  administrative  office.      [Loud  laughter.] 

The  Republican  Party  has  come  back;  it  has  the  soil  under  its  feet,  and  it  has 
the  Democratic  Party  there  also.  [Cheers.]  Once  more  the  banner  of  the  Grand  Old 
Part\',  leaping  from  the  dust,  confronts  the  skies  in  triumph,  and  all  the  stars  upon 
its  silken  folds  send  glorious  greeting  to  their  sisters  shining  there.  [Applau.se.] 
Once  more  the  people  of  this  country  have  proclaimed  in  thunder  tones  to  the 
nations  of  this  earth  that  America  is  for  Americans,  and  that  we  do  not  need  sugges- 
tions from  lands  across  the  sea  as  to  Ikjw  we  shall  be  governed.  [Applause.]  Once 
more  the  Solid  Sotith  has  been  taught  that  when  it  confronts  the  mighty  North  in 
conflict  its  strength  is  but  as  a  babe's  that  wrestles  with  a  giant.  [Applause.]  Once 
more  the  people  of  this  country,  in  retiring  Orover  Cleveland  and  the  party  that 
nominated  him,  ha\e  affirmed  their  belief  that  the  Democratic  Party,  the  party  that 
betrayed  the  Nation's  trn.st,  that  maligned  its  .soldiers— living  and  dead— is  not  the 
party  in  whose  hands  and  keeping  this  Go\ernment  is  safe.  [Applause.]  Once  more 
the  people  of  this  Republic  have  affirmed  their  belief  in,  and  their  love  for,  the  men 
who  saved  the  Nation  in  its  hour  of  peril,  by  placing  in  a  soldier's  hand  a  sceptre 
such  as  never  yet  glorified  the  palm  of  czar  or  king— the  sceptre  of  anthorit>-  over 
65,000,000  free  people.  [Cheers  and  applause.]  That  flag  [pointing  to  the  flag] 
is  the  American  flag;  and,  nn-  friends,  >-ou  need  not  have  the  slightest  fear  that  the 
Republican  Part\-  will  forget  that  its  mission  is  to  see  that  no  man  under  its  folds  is 
deprived  of  any  right,     [(rreat  applause.] 

The  Republican  Part)-  is  a  great  part\-;  thus  far  it  has  met  and  mastered  every 


problem  tliat  lias  been  presented  for  its  action.  It  has  stumbled  sometimes,  but 
every  time  it  rose  again,  notwithstanding-  the  fall;  and  it  was  a  little  further  in 
advance  than  when  it  fell.     [Applause.] 

M>-  fellow-citizens,  there  is  one  resolve  planted  deep  down  in  the  heart  of  the 
Republican  Party,— and  the  heart  of  the  Republican  Party  is  the  heart  of  the  Amer- 
ican people,— and  that  is  the  resolve  that,  wherever  our  flag  flies  upon  this  soil,  wher- 
ever the  white  light  of  its  stars  shines  down,  there  shall  be  three  things:  Free  speech, 
a  free  ballot,  and  an  honest  count  of  that  ballot.  We  will  have  it  so,  North,  South, 
East,  and  West  alike,  or,  by  the  living  God,  this  continent  will  rock  and  reel,  as  it 
never  \-et  reeled,  in  the  shock  of  war.  [(keat  applause.]  .Vnd  the  sooner  the  people 
of  the  South  realize  this  fact,  the  quicker  this  conviction  forces  itself  into  their 
hearts,  the  better,  and  the  happier,  and  the  safer  it  will  be  for  them.  [Applause.] 
It  is  impossible  that  the  great  North — the  land  of  libert\-,  of  progress,  of  industr)- — 
can  be  held  in  check  b}-  the  few  States  constituting  the  Solid  South.  Thank  God, 
one  wedge  has  entered  there  already.  \'irginia — new  \'irginia  and  old  \'irginia — 
are  coming,  with  drums  beating  and  colors  fl>ing,  to  join  their  destin\-  with  the  Re- 
publican Party.  We  have  broken  their  line  of  battle,  we  have  tlie  sweep,  we  have 
the  momentum,  and  we  have  a  man  at  the  head  of  affairs,  or  will  have  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  who  cannot  be  swerved  from  his  dut\-  b\-  any  Mugwump  sentimentality. 
The  Republican  Partv  is  soon  to  be  in  power;  it  has  the  Nation  at  its  back;  it  has 
nearlv  everything  it  wants;  and  what  it  has  not  it  soon  will  ha\-e.     [Cheers.] 

W'e,  as  speakers,  according  to  our  gifts  and  abilities,  from  the  "King  of  us 
all" — Depew — down  to  the  .smallest  voice  that  piped  its  song  on  the  platform,  con- 
tributed to  bring  about  the  blessed  change  that  promises  .so  much  to  the  Nation. 
We   cannot  all   speak    alike— that  is   a  blessed   thing— [laughter]  but  there    is  one 

7H 


thin.i;-  in  which  we  are  all  alike,  absolutely.  I  was  in  Maine  in  the  canvass  of  i8So. 
Maine  is  not  celebrated  for  its  <,^o(k1  hotels,  but  there  was  one  hotel— at  Bangor— 
where  the  landlord  was  a  genial,  jolly  fellow,  and  the  speakers  of  both  parties,  when- 
ever it  was  possible,  met  at  that  point  to  pass  vSunday.  There  were  good  churches  in 
the  town— that  was  the  loadstone  that  chiefly  drew  us  there.  [Laughter.]  The  land- 
lord gave  us  a  great  big  back  room  and  plent\-  of  cigars  and  ice  water,  (>-ou  could 
not  get  anything  but  ice  water  in  Maine),  and,  after  the  afternoon  service  in  church, 
we  would  gather  there  to  compare  notes.  Well,  the  Sunday  before  election,  there 
came  a  knock  on  the  door.  I,  being  nearest,  opened  it.  I  was  confronted  by  a  typ- 
ical, old  Xew  England  sea  captain.  He  said,  "  You  boys  seem  to  be  having  lots  of 
fun  in  there;  I  would  like  to  get  in."  I  told  him  we  were  only  a  lot  of  political  speak- 
ers, and  we  had  nothing  but  ice  water  to  drink.  [Derisive  laughter.]  However,  he 
came  in,  and  we  wrestled  with  that  old  fellow  for  two  hours  and  a  half  to  get  him 
to  commit  himself  ui)on  a  single  point.  He  .said,  "  I  go  and  hear  one  of  you  Demo- 
cratic bovs  talk,  and  I  go  home  and  .say  to  my.self,  'Well,  Hancock  is  a  pretty  good 
fellow;  I  guess  I'll  vote  for  him.'  Then  I  go  to  hear  a  Republican,  and  I  go  home 
and  sav  to  nK)ther,  '(iarfield  is  a  powerful  man;  I  guess  I  shall  have  to  vote  for 
him.'  "  We  told  him  he  would  have  to  make  up  his  mind  pretty  quickly.  "  Yes," 
he  said,  "  I  will  between  now  and  election."  We  asked  him  which  side  had  the  best 
speakers.  He  .said,  "Well,  that  is  a  pretty  hard  question  to  answer;  you're  all 
mightv  bright  yoinrg  men."  Well,  is  there  anything  about  ns  on  both  sides  that 
strikes  you  as  peculiar?  "Yes,"  .said  the  old  chap,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye, 
"there  is  one  thing  I  have  noticed  about  all  on  >ou;  that  is  that  none  of  vou  ever 
spile  a  good  speech  because  your  facts  gin  out."  [Cheers  and  laughter.]  In  this 
respect,  if  in  no  other,  my  fellow-Spellbinders,  we  can  claim  to  be  alike  as  orators. 

79 


]\I\-  friend,  Mr.  Depew,  sa\s  I  lia\e  been  speakiiicr  for  about  fifty  years.  I 
remember  once,  when  I  was  a  little  bo\-  in  knickerbockers,  I  went  with  nn-  father 
to  a  political  nicetino;.  When  we  arri\ed,  a  tall,  bald-headed,  side-whiskered,  pleas- 
ant-faced gentleman  was  makinij  a  speech;  he  told  funny  stories,  said  funny  things, 
and  completely  captured  my  boyish  fi^ncy.  I  said  to  m>-  father,  "Who  is  that 
man?"  He  replied,  "Why,  my  .son,  that's  old  Chauncey  Depew,  a  man  who  has 
been  the  leading  orator  of  this  country  for  the  last  sixt\-  \ears."  So  you  see,  old  as 
I  am  at  this  business,  I  feel  like  a  child  in  the  presence  of  a  man  who  first  awakened 
ni}-  boyi.sh  enthusia.sm,  and  fired  me  with  the  determination  to  become  a  Spellbinder. 

Now,  gentlemen,  there  are  many  waiting  to  have  their  little  say,  and  so,  out 
of  consideration  for  these  anxious  ones — and  for  >-on  also — I  bring  my  Spell  to  a 
close,  and  resume  m\-  seat.     [Great  cheering.  ] 


Mr.  Dkpf.w: — rjentlemen,  we  have  listened  to  the  \-eterans;  now  let  us  hear 
from  the  \ouths.  As  we  have  heard  from  the  old,  we  will  end  with  the  >-oung.  Mr. 
(kithrie  will  pronounce  the  benediction. 


MR.    CtUTHRIE. 

Mr.  Ch.\irm.\x: — If  there  is  one  element  which  may  be  .said  to  be  character- 
istic of  this  election  and  to  distinguish  the  campaign  from  ]neceding  ones,  it  is  the 
active  part  taken  on  both  sides  by  the  young  men  of  the  countrw  Men  who  were  }et 
unborn  or  mere  children  when  heroic  Sheridan  dashed  along  the  road  from  Winches- 


ter  to  Cedar  Creek,  now  hold  the  power,  by  their  votes,  to  shape  the  destinies  of  the 
Nation.  It  seems  to  be  felt  everywhere  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  new  genera- 
tion to  prepare  for  the  responsibilities  of  government.  As  the  inangnraticni  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison  opens  the  second  centnry  of  our  constitution,  it  shall  be  the  duty  and 
ambition  of  the  generation  to  which  I  belong  to  perpetuate  throughout  that  century 
the  prosperitN-  and  general  happiness  of  the  present.  No  grander  task  could  be 
allotted  to  men. 

The  vonng  "Spellbinder"  must,  indeed,  be  cold  who  does  not  feel  his  pulse 
beat  faster  to-night  from  the  consciousness  of  a.ssociation  and  alliance  with  so  many 
men  here  present,  who,  thirty  >-ears  ago  were  la>-ing,  and  whose  efforts  cemented, 
the  foundations  of  the  Republican  Party.  The  result  of  your  devotion  and  your 
efforts  will  shape  the  fortunes  of  our  children  and  our  cliildren's  children.  We  will 
hold  up  for  their  emulation  the  e.\am])le  of  >our  fidelit\-  to  principle  and  to  countr\-. 
l!ul  \()ur  work  has  been  in  vain,  the  immense  sacrifice  is  futile,  unless  my  generation 
is  wortlu-  of  this  great  trust.  Von  now  leave  and  confide  to  us  the  obligation  and 
the  dut\-  of  maintaining  and  defending  what  you  have  Iniilt  up.  The  responsibility 
of  government  must  shorth'  descend  to  us.  Will  we  do  ain'thing  worthy  to  be  men- 
tioned with  \  our  work  "^  Let  us  hope  so.  Let  our  ambition  be  to  equal  the  record 
you  have  made.  In  so  noble  a  pursuit  let  us  stand  as  on  a  high  mountain  peak, 
lifted  alike  above  our  own  local  interests  and  selfish  motives,  and  able,  with  a 
broader  horizon,  to  see  and  weigh  the  needs  and  the  demands  of  our  countr>-  as  a 
whole;  so  that  to  our  national  vision  there  shall  be  no  State  lines,— no  North,  no 
j^ojith,— but  only  "one  country,  one  constitution,  one  destiny."  And  we  shall  ever 
hope  that  when  the  ebbing  tide  shall  carry  the  last  breath  of  our  generation  far 
awaN-  out  into  the  sea  of  eteruit>-,  we  ma>-  be  able  to  la>-  at  the  feet  of  the  immortal 


leaders  of  the  party, — Lincoln,  vSeward,  drant,  and  Conkling-,— as  the  result  of  our 
life's  work,  the  picture  of  a  cominon  countr}-  completeh-  re-united,  where,  politically, 
there  no  longer  exists  any  North  nor  any  South. 

Three  hours  of  speeches  are  enough  to  exhaust  e\-eu  \our  enthusiasm.  To 
continue  further  is  to  trespass  on  your  patience.  But  before  we  break  up  let  me 
voice  one  sentiment.  In  the  last  number  of  the  XorlJi  American  Review  General 
Sherman  published  an  article  on  the  Camp  Fires  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic. In  that  article  runs  a  vein  of  sadness,  as  if  the  old  warrior  doubted  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  young  men  of  to-day.  He  said  that  a  great  danger  lurks  over  the  land, 
namely  (these  are  the  General's  own  words)  :  "That  the  next  generation  ma^•  con- 
clude that  the  wise  man  stays  at  home  and  lea\-es  the  fool  to  take  the  buffets  and 
kicks  of  war."  I  belie\e  General  Sherman  is  wrong.  I  believe  that  the  heroi.sm  of 
the  war  has  begot  a  patriotism  in  the  >oung  men  of  to-day  strong  and  deep.  We 
young  men  revere  and  worship  the  soldiers  of  that  war  as  Pagans  used  to  worship 
their  gods.  Every  reference  during  the  campaign  to  the  heroes  of  the  war,  made  b\- 
either  Republicans  or  Democrats,  was  received  with  acclamations  and  cheers.  We 
)-oung  men  ma>-  truly  say  to  General  Sherman  that  there  lurks  no  such  danger;  that 
we  have  inherited  the  spirit  of  the  war;  that  the  fires  of  patriotism  still  burn;  and 
that  this  generation  shall  not  be  found  wavering  or  halting  if  our  countrv  .shall  ever 
require  the  .sacrifice  of  our  lives. 


;\Ik.    Dkpkw:— Gentlemen,  the  first  meeting  of  the   Siiellbinders  has  come  to 
a  close.      l-'or   twent>-five  years    I   have   attended   from    twenty-five   to  fifty   dinners, 

S2 


aninmllv,  in  tliis  hall.  This  is  the  only  one,  dnrino;  the  whole  period,  where  the 
larj^re  majority  of  the  audience  has  staid  until  one  o'clock  in  the  uiorning.  Half- 
past  eleven  usually  closes  the  interest  of  the  audience,  and  the  speaker  who  remains 
speaks  to  himself  P>ut  the  vS])ellbiiuler  has  demonstrated  that  he  won  this  fi.i,dit. 
He  has  held  here  not  only  himself,  hut  a  listeninjj  audience  which  has  hung 
breathless  upon  his  words.  The  base  suggestion  that  all  of  them  who  join  here 
to-night  expected  to  .speak,  we  dismiss;  and,  by  the  authority  residing  in  me,  I 
pronounce  the  first  meeting  of  the  Spellbinders  a  success,   and  closed. 


A"^     '% 


N^       ' 


-^/    V-  J-J^,  <,^\  ^*  'V. 


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^^""^  r.€' 


<^\^  ^o. 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


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